Africa

Africa

UN, partners appeal for 30.5 mln USD for conflict-affected people in east DRC

19 January 2013 01:07 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. UN agencies and humanitarian partners have appealed for 30.5 million U.S. dollars to help more than half a million people affected by conflict in North Kivu in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said here Friday, APA quoting Xinhua.

"The North Kivu Response Plan, which was launched today in Goma, will fund life-saving humanitarian response for the first six months of this year," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here.

"The response plan will cover urgent efforts to reach people displaced in camps with food, water and shelter as well as help families return home and rebuild their lives," he said. "Health partners plan to renovate clinics and health centers, and replenish the medical supplies."

"The plan also addresses the need to protect civilians in the region, many of them affected by clashes between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army in recent months," he said.

The M23, a rebel group in the DRC, is composed of a breakaway faction of soldiers from the DRC's national army. It recently seized seven towns in North Kivu province and intensified attacks on schools, hospitals, homes and other civilian targets.

"While Goma remains tense, new displacements are occurring every day elsewhere in North Kivu with thousands seeking safety in neighboring South Kivu," he said.

The eastern province of North and South Kivu in DRC have witnessed increased fighting between government troops and the M23, which has displaced more than 100,000 people including many who have fled to neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.