Former President Uhuru Kenyatta is facing a fresh headache after UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency reported that over 90,000 people across the Rutshuru and Masisi territories were forced to flee their homes during the first weeks of October.
The UN body noted that the massive displacement was caused by escalating violence and pervasive human rights abuses in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
UN’s desire to help the affected families has however been hampered by the escalating violence making it hard to access the areas.
“Displaced families urgently need food, clean water, and shelter, but humanitarian access to affected populations is severely restricted due to ongoing conflicts,” UNHCR.
“Disease outbreaks, particularly cholera and measles, continue to ravage IDP sites in North Kivu, exacerbated by overcrowding and lack of drinking water. Out of the 1 million people urgently requiring tarpaulin shelters in the eastern provinces, only 115,000 have received them since June. Meanwhile, children in dozens of schools in North Kivu remain out of school as their classrooms are used to shelter displaced families,” it added.
Following the escalation of violence, UNHCR urgently called on the international community to step up efforts towards lasting peace for the DRC as well as resources needed to alleviate the suffering of displaced people in eastern DRC, and Congolese seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.
Uhuru is the facilitator of the East African Community (EAC) Nairobi-led process on the Restoration of Peace and Stability in eastern DRC.
Recently he called on warring parties to commit to non-military solutions in resolving the conflict.
He appealed to both sides to end the armed hostilities so as to allow continued unhindered and sustained humanitarian access in the area.
“His Excellency President (Retired) Uhuru Kenyatta, in his capacity as the Facilitator of the EAC-Led Nairobi Process on the Restoration of Peace and Stability in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), condemns the reported escalation of hostilities, killings and displacements in eastern DRC,” his office said in a statement.
