United Nations, Feb 22 (IANS) The head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said that Rwanda-supported M23 rebels in the eastern North Kivu province are hampering peacekeeping operations.
“The continued occupation of parts of North Kivu by the M23, supported by the Rwandan defence forces, has severely constrained MONUSCO’s ability to fully implement mission requirements,” said Bintou Keita, chief of the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, adding that the rebels prevent the mission from protecting civilians and carrying out life-saving operations.
Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters during a video linkup from Kinshasa, the special representative in the DRC of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the M23 is advancing through South Kivu and further as part of its stated aim to reach the DRC capital, Xinhua news agency reported.
MONUSCO withdrew from South Kivu last year following its revised mandate from the Security Council and as requested by the Kinshasa government.
Keita said the operational challenges MONUSCO faces have been confounded by disinformation and hate campaigns that deliberately put the lives of UN peacekeepers at risk.
She said peacekeepers protect hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in the eastern DRC.
Stéphane Dujarric, the secretary-general’s chief spokesman, said humanitarian partners have raised concerns that ongoing clashes in South Kivu’s Uvira hinder access to those in need and ambulances. He added that hospitals in the province report receiving civilian casualties from the conflict daily.
“In the Kalehe territory, fighting has forced more than 50,000 people to flee over the past week, many to Burundi,” the spokesman said. “Since February, more than 40,000 Congolese nationals — the majority of whom are women and children — have arrived in Burundi seeking protection.”
Dujarric also said the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) launched an appeal seeking $40.4 million to deliver protection and assistance to 275,000 internally displaced people in South Kivu, North Kivu, Maniema and Tanganyika provinces of the DRC.
The spokesman said the funding is also to support a potential influx of 258,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and returnees in neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
“UNHCR said there is an urgent need for shelter, food and latrines as well as relocation of the new arrivals to other sites to address overcrowding,” he said. “UNHCR and its partners are stepping up assistance, distributing warm meals and water to new arrivals. They need all sorts of relief supplies.”
–IANS
int/rs
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
