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	Democrats decry ‘sham for justice’ after prosecutors drop Trump charges by AP, Brennan Center, PBS, agencies USA   Jan. 2025   Police express outrage over Trump’s Jan. 6 Pardons, by Luke Broadwater for the New York Times   More than 150 officers from the Capitol Police and the D.C. police were injured when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol four years ago.   When inmates are released from federal prison, the Justice Department places a call to their victims, notifying them that the defendant who attacked them is now free. On Tuesday, the phones of U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. police officers were buzzing nonstop.   For Aquilino A. Gonell, a former Capitol Police sergeant, the automated calls began on Monday evening and continued into Tuesday morning after President Trump issued a sweeping legal reprieve to all of the nearly 1,600 defendants, including those convicted of violent crimes, in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.   Between 7:03 a.m. and 9:37 a.m., Mr. Gonell received nine calls from the Justice Department about the release of inmates.   Mr. Gonell, who was assaulted during the attack and retired because of the injuries he suffered, was as outraged and distraught as he was shortly after the violence.   “It’s a miscarriage of justice, a betrayal, a mockery, and a desecration of the men and women that risked their lives defending our democracy,” he said of the nearly 1,600 pardons and 14 commutations.   More than 150 police officers from the two agencies were injured during the assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob four years ago. Some were hit in the head with baseball bats, flagpoles and pipes. One lost consciousness after rioters used a metal barrier to push her down as they marched to the building.   Now many of those officers described themselves as struggling and depressed in response to Mr. Trump freeing their attackers.   In the days and weeks after the riot, several police officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6 died, including Officer Brian D. Sicknick of the Capitol Police, who was attacked by the mob, suffered a stroke and died of natural causes on Jan. 7. Officers Jeffrey Smith of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and Howard S. Liebengood of the Capitol Police died by suicide in the days after the violence.   Craig Sicknick, the older brother of Brian Sicknick, has dedicated an area of his house to his brother, putting up a portrait and displaying the pocket-size military medallions known as challenge coins and other mementos on a table.   “I think about my brother almost every day,” Mr. Sicknick said. “He spent his life trying to do the right thing. He did it while he was in the military. He did it as a police officer. He did it in his personal life.”   The pardons, Mr. Sicknick said, leave him heartbroken that there will be no accountability for those who stormed the Capitol.   “We almost lost democracy that day,” he said of Jan. 6. “Today, I honestly think we did lose democracy.”   On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, there were few condemnations of the pardons from Republican senators, even those who have spoken out against the violence.   Some of the officers who were victims that day are pledging to fight on. “For anyone who cares about truth and respect for law and law enforcement, his pardons are an unspeakable outrage,” said Patrick A. Malone, a lawyer for seven officers who sued Mr. Trump over the attack. “The officers I represent will not forget!” Mr. Malone said.   Harry Dunn, one of the most outspoken officers who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6, spent Monday and Tuesday checking in with his former colleagues.   “Everybody’s angry and sad and devastated,” said Mr. Dunn, who has left the Capitol Police.   One officer, Mr. Dunn said, went to bed after a long shift only to be awakened by an automated voice mail from victim services informing him of the release of a Jan. 6 defendant.   “Every officer who testified in court is now getting these automated calls that, ‘Hey this defendant is being released,’” Mr. Dunn said. “The number of calls people are getting, it’s unbelievable.”   Mr. Dunn himself said he is feeling a mix of emotions, including frustration and resignation.   “It’s mind-blowing to me that everybody is now surprised and up in arms about it,” he said, adding that Mr. Trump “said he was going to do it, and what me and the other officers were doing speaking out was getting people to realize what was coming.”   He added: “I get so many messages, ‘Harry, you’re a hero.’ I don’t want to be a hero. I want accountability.”   http://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/us/politics/jan-6-pardons-police.html http://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/opinion/trump-democracy-autocracy.html http://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/31/opinion/trump-assault-government-americans.html http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/trump-pardoning-jan-6-insurrectionists-would-endorse-attacks-democracy http://www.splcenter.org/presscenter/splc-condemns-jan-6-pardons/ http://www.justsecurity.org/107288/nine-experts-pardons-january-6/ http://www.justsecurity.org/tag/january-6th-attack-on-us-capitol/ http://societyfortheruleoflaw.org/statement-on-january-6/ http://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-dept-releases-report-trump-attempt-overturn-2020-election-2025-01-14/ http://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf http://www.citizen.org/news/history-if-not-the-courts-will-judge-trumps-unconstitutional-democracy-destroying-actions/ http://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report   25 Nov. 2024   Democrats decry ‘sham for justice’ after prosecutors drop Trump charges. (CNN, agencies)   Responding to news that the special counsel Jack Smith had dropped all charges against Donald Trump for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and retention of classified information, Dan Goldman, a prosecutor turned New York Democrat and member of the House oversight committee, lamented “a shame for justice in this country”.   “It establishes that Donald Trump is above the law,” Goldman told CNN. “The supreme court put him above the law [by ruling that he had ‘absolute immunity’ for official acts] but now he appears to escape full accountability for what were crimes charged by a grand jury.”   Goldman rejected the argument that by re-electing Trump, the American people had acquitted him of all charges.   “They did not vote for him to dismantle our democracy, to attack the constitution, to politicize all of our agencies, and certainly not as a referendum on his criminal cases. “Those cases should have been played out in a court of law … and Donald Trump should not have been able to run out the clock.”   Aquilino Gonell, a former Capitol police sergeant who testified about his experiences and injuries on 6 January 2021, when Trump sent a mob to attack Congress, lamented the “miscarriage of justice”.   “No one is above the law is a great slogan,” added Gonell, who suffered injuries to his hands, shoulder, calf and foot in the Capitol attack.   To many Americans, “no one is above the law”, however, no longer seems like a legal reality. Three weeks after Trump defeated Kamala Harris, Smith dropped 44 charges against him: four for election subversion and 40 for retention of classified records.   Smith said he was following Department of Justice policy, which says a sitting president cannot be charged. He also said he was acting “without prejudice”, which meant the cases could be refiled after Trump leaves power.   That was an echo of the situation in New York, where sentencing on Trump’s 34 felony convictions related to hush money payments to a porn star has been postponed. In Georgia, eight election subversion charges remain on the docket.   http://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/us/politics/jan-6-pardons-police.html http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/trump-pardoning-jan-6-insurrectionists-would-endorse-attacks-democracy http://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/25/politics/trump-special-counsel-jack-smith/index.html http://www.citizen.org/news/history-if-not-the-courts-will-judge-trumps-unconstitutional-democracy-destroying-actions/   Oct. 2024   Jack Smith, the special counsel probing former U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to subvert the 2020 presidential contest, presented fresh evidence supporting his election interference case against the 2024 Republican nominee.   The motion states:   "When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office. With private co-conspirators, the defendant launched a series of increasingly desperate plans to overturn the legitimate election results in seven states that he had lost—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (the "targeted states"). His efforts included lying to state officials in order to induce them to ignore true vote counts; manufacturing fraudulent electoral votes in the targeted states; attempting to enlist Vice President Pence, in his role as president of the Senate, to obstruct Congress' certification of the election by using the defendant's fraudulent electoral votes; and when all else had failed, on January 6, 2021, directing an angry crowd of supporters to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification".   According to Smith's motion:   "Although the defendant was the incumbent president during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one. Working with a team of private co-conspirators, the defendant acted as a candidate when he pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt, through fraud and deceit, the government function by which votes are collected and counted—a function in which the defendant, as president, had no official role.   In Trump v. United States... the Supreme Court held that presidents are immune from prosecution for certain official conduct—including the defendant's use of the Justice Department in furtherance of his scheme, as was alleged in the original indictment—and remanded to this court to determine whether the remaining allegations against the defendant are immunized.   The answer to that question is no. This motion provides a comprehensive account of the defendant's private criminal conduct; sets forth the legal framework created by Trump for resolving immunity claims; applies that framework to establish that none of the defendant's charged conduct is immunized because it either was unofficial or any presumptive immunity is rebutted; and requests the relief the government seeks, which is, at bottom, this: that the court determine that the defendant must stand trial for his private crimes as would any other citizen".   http://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf http://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-dept-releases-report-trump-attempt-overturn-2020-election-2025-01-14/ http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/14/key-takeaways-jack-smith-report-trump http://apnews.com/article/trump-jack-smith-election-supreme-court-0b9969b480036bb1f7c61a73980d406c http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25182548-chutkan http://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report   Oct. 2024   Trump sparks outrage after calling for army to handle enemies on election day. (news agencies)   Donald Trump has provoked an angry backlash from Democrats after calling for the US armed forces to be turned against his political adversaries when voters go to the polls at next month’s presidential election.   In comments that further fuelled fears of an authoritarian crackdown if he recaptures the White House, the Republican nominee said the military or national guard should be deployed against opponents that he called “the enemy within” when the election takes place on 5 November.   He singled out the California congressman, Adam Schiff, who was the lead prosecutor in the ex-president’s first impeachment trial, as posing a bigger threat to a free and fair election than foreign terrorists.   Trump’s comments, to Fox News in response to a question on possible election “chaos”, triggered an angry reaction from Kamala Harris’s campaign, which likened them to previous remarks that he would be a dictator “on day one” of a second presidency and his suggestions that the US constitution should be terminated to overturn the 2020 election result, which he falsely claims was stolen by Joe Biden.   Adam Schiff responded by accusing Trump of inciting violence in the same manner as he was widely accused of doing on 6 January 2021, when a mob attacked the US Capitol in an effort to stop certification of Biden’s election win.   “Today, Trump threatened to deploy the military against the ‘enemies from within.’ The same thing he has called me,” Schiff wrote. “Just as he incited a mob to attack the Capitol, he again stokes violence against those who oppose him.”   http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/14/trump-military-enemy-within-armed-forces-election-day http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/trump-authoritarian-rhetoric-hitler-mussolini/680296/ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/trump-military-generals-hitler/680327/ http://www.theatlantic.com/if-trump-wins/ http://sojo.net/articles/opinion/christian-faith-requires-us-speak-out-against-fascist-rhetoric http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/12/05/the-second-coming-fintan-otoole/ http://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/politics/john-kelly-trump-fitness-character.html http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/25/opinion/what-trump-says.html http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2024/10/trumps-escalating-rhetoric-washington-week/680419/ http://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/30/nation/trumps-new-york-rally-reflects-party-where-hate-speech-has-become-mainstream/ http://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/us/trump-msg-rally.html http://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/12/trump-racist-rhetoric-immigrants-00183537   July 2024   Supreme Court’s radical immunity ruling undermines Democracy, by Thomas Wolf. (Brennan Center for Justice)   U.S. Supreme Court’s radical immunity ruling shields lawbreaking Presidents and undermines Democracy. The Court’s opinion in Trump v. United States is a dangerous attack on the rule of law, writes Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.   In a shocking and lawless opinion, the Supreme Court granted presidents broad protections from criminal prosecution for “official acts” they undertake while in office. This ruling from the Court’s conservative supermajority pulls a new constitutional rule from thin air. And it raises daunting, unjustifiable barriers to criminally prosecuting lawbreaking presidents. Trump is now positioned to renew his push to dismiss the charges against him and evade accountability for the grave crimes he’s accused of committing against our democracy. The Court has left the rule of law in tatters — even as it looks the other way.   The Court’s 6–3 opinion — authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — attempts to set out rules to govern prosecutions of any and all future occupants of the Oval Office. Presidents, the Court rules, “may not be prosecuted for exercising [their] core constitutional powers, and [are] entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for [their] official acts.” The Court notes that presidents “enjoy[] no immunity for [their] unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official.”   But the latter assertion rings hollow in the context of the opinion that surrounds it. The Court has created an elaborate system of ambiguous rules that will not only ratchet up the complexity of the case against Trump but also erode the checks on presidential illegality. It is both a roadblock to prosecution and an encouragement to more insurrection.   Trump v. United States involves Trump’s prosecution in Washington, DC, for federal crimes stemming from his alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election, a driving force behind the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Special Counsel Jack Smith charged that, as part of this conspiracy, Trump and his allies promoted false claims of election fraud, pushed state officials to ignore the results of the popular vote, organized slates of false Trump electors, pressured the Justice Department to conduct sham election-crime investigations, and tried to get Vice President Mike Pence to replace authentic electors with phony ones.   Trump tried to have the case tossed — or, at the very least, stalled until after the 2024 election — by arguing that presidents are absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for their official acts. After his arguments failed in the trial court and the appellate court, he brought it to the Supreme Court, which rewarded his transparent delay tactics and scorched-earth lawyering with an opinion that is shocking in both its substance and its effect.   The Court has held for the first time that presidents stand above the criminal law, a radical rejection of a bedrock part of the American legal and political tradition. The idea that lawbreaking presidents could be prosecuted was common sense to the Constitution’s framers, critical to the ratification of the Constitution in the late 18th century, and a background principle against which all presidents have done their jobs in the centuries since then. (Fifteen leading historians represented by the Brennan Center and our co-counsel at the law firm Friedman Kaplan made precisely this case in a friend-of-the-court brief this spring.) The Court has discarded all of this, fashioning a new constitutional rule from nothing.   The procedures the Court has crafted to go with it are pitched in Trump’s favor. Whenever the case returns to Judge Tanya Chutkan’s trial court, Trump will be presumed immune by default; the burden will be on the prosecution to establish that he isn’t. The Court’s definition of “official acts” cuts extremely broadly, stretching to “the outer perimeter of [Trump’s] official responsibility.” (The Court refused to say exactly where that perimeter ends.) The prosecution must show that prosecuting Trump for those official acts “would pose no dangers of intrusion on the authority and functions” of the presidency (emphasis added). The prosecution won’t be able to claim an official act was “unofficial” because of the president’s motives for doing it.   And Trump can seek another round of appellate review if the trial court doesn’t rule him immune. Should the government clear these hurdles, it won’t be able to use the “testimony or private records of [Trump] or his advisors” about official acts to prove his guilt.   The Court justifies all this new complexity as necessary to protect imaginary future presidents from imaginary future prosecutions. It does not, critically, justify it as a response to the acts of the real and credibly accused former president in the case before it.   Just as members of the Court’s conservative supermajority consistently steered the conversation at oral argument away from Trump’s charges, they do not even try to grapple with the bigger implications of applying their new rule to the case in front of them or the consequences if their rule ultimately lets Trump skate. Instead, the Court bows out of the case with the tidy but myopic claim that it “cannot afford to fixate exclusively, or even primarily, on present exigencies,” lest “transient results” threaten “the future of our Republic.”   The Court doesn’t engage with the ramifications of its opinion, because it can’t — at least not without exposing the fundamental bankruptcy of the whole edifice it has just built. The majority’s ruling cannot possibly be the rule for any functioning democracy. Trump has been charged with attempting to overthrow the election that threw him out of office. Any rule that would grant a president immunity for that crime would remove the principal check on presidential abuses of authority in our democratic system: the vote. And it would encourage other losing candidates to try the same in future elections.   It is in this sense that the Court’s opinion is truly lawless. It does not merely invent constitutional rules that are antithetical to our founding commitments or enduring values. It threatens to free presidents from the constraints of law and democracy. And it paves the way for future presidents to try to make good on the most antidemocratic of all propositions: might makes right.   In reaching to resolve future imagined cases of presidential criminality while downplaying the actual criminality before it, the Court has imperiled accountability for Trump’s wrongs. It has done severe violence to our law. And it has left our democracy exposed.   Trump v. United States is not a serious opinion for a serious democracy. It is an epochal dereliction of duty.   http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-courts-radical-immunity-ruling-shields-lawbreaking-presidents-and http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-gives-president-power-king http://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/01/politics/joe-biden-immunity-supreme-court/index.html http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/01/sonia-sotomayor-dissent-trump-immunity-case http://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-immunity-dissents-sotomayor-jackson-rcna159771 http://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/supreme-court-grants-trump-future-presidents-a-loaded-weapon-to-break-the-law http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/01/immunity-trump-justices-2024/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/democracy-on-trial/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/lies-politics-and-democracy/
	6 million people have been killed by conflict in eastern DRC since 1996 by WFP, NRC, OCHA, UN News, agencies Middle East   23 May 2025   As more people are driven from their homes in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) food insecurity worsens, creating heightened humanitarian needs regionally. (WFP)   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that the sheer scale of people being displaced from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to escalating conflict, is pushing food insecurity to crisis proportions and deepening an already strained humanitarian response both internally and across the region.   WFP is scaling up its efforts to ensure lifesaving aid reaches displaced communities, but assistance is not keeping pace with the growing needs.   Violent clashes between the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), M23, and other armed groups have uprooted more than 660,000 people since January in Goma alone, leaving these individuals without reliable access to food.   In the conflict-affected eastern provinces of DRC, (Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika) the number of people facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and above) has risen from 6.6 million to 7.9 million. Some 2.3 million of these people are in IPC phase 4.   Food production in North Kivu’s Grand Nord, an important agricultural hub in eastern DRC, is deeply affected by escalating insecurity and mass displacement.   According to the latest assessment, more than 90 percent of households in North and South Kivu are facing acute levels of food insecurity, with many families forced to reduce meal sizes, eat less nutritious food and resort to begging. Local food prices have increased as insecurity disrupts trade routes and market access, leaving families struggling.   The DRC is now home to 28 million acutely food insecure people (IPC 3 and above).   Cross-border displacement is compounding the food crisis. In the first four months of 2025 nearly 140,000 Congolese fled to neighbouring countries, with Burundi and Uganda receiving the largest influxes – 70,000 and 60,000 respectively. People fleeing into neighboring countries have abandoned their farms and many lack access to critical services including food, shelter and healthcare..   WFP is working with humanitarian partners to ensure people receive life-saving assistance, but the needs are soaring, and the resources are not keeping pace. Insecurity and ongoing armed clashes are limiting humanitarian access, making it difficult to reach the most vulnerable communities in eastern DRC.   The shortage of food commodities is significantly impacting WFP’s emergency response, particularly in South Kivu where general food distributions were not possible in April. Goma airport, a key humanitarian hub, remains closed.   WFP urgently requires US$426 million to sustain emergency operations in the DRC through October 2025. Without immediate support, millions risk being cut off from lifesaving assistance, further deepening the humanitarian crisis both at country and regional level.   http://www.wfp.org/news/more-people-are-driven-their-homes-drc-food-insecurity-worsens-creating-heightened http://www.wfp.org/stories/hunger-soars-drc-wfp-regional-chief-urges-joint-action-reverse-course http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159546/?iso3=COD   2. Apr 2025   DR Congo: Millions facing destitution as violence forces people to flee multiple times   The escalation of violent conflict in recent months has pushed hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into desperate conditions, warns the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Secretary General Jan Egeland on a visit this week.   Displaced families sheltering at temporary sites have once again been forced to flee, as fighting and abuse plunge people into life-threatening situations. The explosion of humanitarian needs requires immediate attention from an international community that has turned its back on people in crisis. Parties to the conflict must end the violence facing civilians.   “I am truly shocked by the conditions I have seen in and around the city of Goma. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people here in eastern DRC are hanging by a thread,” said Egeland. “Right across North and South Kivu, people have been repeatedly compelled to flee camps, where essential facilities were often already inadequate. Now, most find themselves in locations that lack shelter, basic sanitation, or drinking water, with diseases such as cholera rapidly increasing as a result.   “Many displaced people I’ve listened to this week have lost everything after years of violence. It is unacceptable that a small number of humanitarian organisations are faced with a vast mountain of needs. It is high time that assistance here matches the vast scale of human suffering. Long term solutions must be enabled, with children quickly allowed to return to school, banks to re-open, and an immediate end to violence and threats of violence against civilians.”   Since the M23 offensive across the region earlier this year, an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced across North and South Kivu provinces. 1.8 million people have been compelled to return to their places of origin, often to locations which bear deep scars from years of conflict between multiple armed groups. Civilians face threats, gender-based violence, and extreme deprivation. Unexploded munitions continue to prevent many communities from fully cultivating their land.   “Fighting and conflict are still continuing, with thousands of families caught in limbo, without the means to rebuild or cultivate food. The situation facing civilians in eastern DRC has for years been a stain on the international community: now it has become even worse,” said Egeland.   NRC teams are providing displaced people with emergency aid, but there is too little funding available. The United States has for long been the largest donor to emergency relief and development aid in the country, but many US-funded projects have been interrupted or paused due to changes at USAID, just as humanitarian needs in DRC exploded.   DRC has for eight consecutive years been ranked as one of the world’s most neglected displacement crises, due to repeated cycles of conflict, lack of funding for aid and media attention, or effective humanitarian and peace diplomacy. Millions of people have been repeatedly driven from first their homes and then, again, from camps, often multiple times. Families have been pushed into impossible choices just to survive, such as going to dangerous areas to find firewood to sell, exchanging sex for food, or sending young children to beg for money.   “The level of global neglect experienced by civilians in eastern DRC should shame world leaders. Now, at a point of deep insecurity and with many families having returned to their areas of origin, there must be concerted action to finally support the population properly. Humanitarian and development assistance must now take priority: the people of DRC must not be faced with simply more of the same,” said Egeland.   http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/april/dr-congo-millions-facing-destitution-as-violence-forces-people-to-flee-multiple-times http://www.wfp.org/stories/hunger-soars-drc-wfp-regional-chief-urges-joint-action-reverse-course http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/child-reported-raped-every-half-hour-eastern-drc-violence-rages-amid-growing-funding http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-coordinator-statement-member-states-briefing-humanitarian-situation-drc-geneva-25-march-2025 http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/reports-sexual-violence-eastern-drc-surge-almost-700-march-armed-conflict-intensifies-actionaid http://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/icrc-president-respect-international-humanitarian-law-key-breaking-vicious-cycle-conflict-eastern-democratic-republic-congo   14 Mar. 2025   Cholera spreads as clashes drive displacement in eastern DRC   OCHA reports that clashes and insecurity in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to harm civilians.   In South Kivu, humanitarian partners warn that continued violence in the territories of Uvira and Fizi has forced nearly 370,000 people to flee their homes since early February.   Serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law have been reported, including nearly 400 cases of sexual violence reported in Uvira between 9 and 25 February, according to partners monitoring protection issues.   Humanitarian organizations in the area have also been targeted in Uvira.   The impact of the continued insecurity and displacements of people has also contributed to a growing cholera outbreak, with health officials reporting more than 240 cases and 10 deaths as of March 10th in Uvira. Partners working in health estimate new cholera cases are doubling every week there.   Since 3 March, clashes in Walungu Territory have reportedly forced more than 20,000 people to flee, and they urgently need food, water, shelter and other essential items.   http://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-news-occupied-palestinian-territory-syria-democratic-republic-congo http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/unicef-drc-l3-emergency-humanitarian-situation-report-no1-escalation-conflict-01-15-march-2025 http://www.wfp.org/news/conflict-and-rising-food-prices-drive-congolese-one-worlds-worst-food-crises-according-new-ipc http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/un-experts-urge-immediate-action-protect-children-against-trafficking http://www.msf.org/new-wave-violence-ituri-drc-further-risks-civilian-lives   20 Feb. 2025   Crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to deepen. WFP alarmed at soaring hunger as more flee displacement camps in eastern DRC.   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has partially resumed food assistance in parts of Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) delivering vital nutrition supplies for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in children aged 6 to 59 months as three weeks of fighting continues to worsen access to food for the most vulnerable.   A recent WFP market assessment found the price of staple foods in eastern DRC has sky-rocketed – making it more difficult for families to put food on the table. The price of maize flour has risen by nearly 67 percent.   With major access routes blocked, and Goma International airport a critical humanitarian hub closed, WFP’s priority is to resume operations fully as soon as it is safe to do so.   ‘The longer we are unable to give food and emergency assistance to families affected by the conflict, the greater and more dire their needs are,” said Peter Musoko, WFP’s Country Director and Representative in DRC. “I do not want to see children and mothers sink deeper into hunger and severe malnutrition. We need the violence to stop so we can resume our humanitarian activities. The most vulnerable people in DRC cannot afford to be overlooked during this crisis.’   http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-community-drc-calls-254-billion-provide-lifesaving-assistance-11-million-people-affected-crises http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-calls-continued-protection-and-assistance-congolese-fleeing-escalating   15 Feb. 2025   Fighters from the Rwandan-backed M23 group have entered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after a rapid advance south in recent days. M23 fighters entered the city of 1 million people on Friday.   The surge in violence has worsened an already dire humanitarian situation. The fighting has destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova in South Kivu, leaving 350,000 internally displaced people without shelter, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.   "UNHCR is alarmed by the rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis impacting hundreds of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the continued lack of humanitarian access to displaced people hampers the provision of urgently needed aid.. The crisis is worsening as many tens of thousands of people flee to areas where humanitarian aid cannot reach them due to insecurity.   UNHCR calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to ensure the safety of civilians, including the displaced, and to uphold international humanitarian principles including the right to move freely in search of safety. We urge all parties to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access. UNHCR urges the international community to bolster their support to prevent a deeper humanitarian catastrophe".   13 Feb. 2025   Children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo increasingly exposed to sexual violence, abduction and recruitment – Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell:   “I am deeply alarmed by the intensifying violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and its impact on children and families. In North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we have seen in recent years.   “During the week of 27 January to 2 February 2025, UNICEF partners reported that the number of rape cases treated across 42 health facilities jumped five-fold in one week. Of those treated, 30 per cent were children. The true figures are likely much higher because so many survivors are reluctant to come forward. Our partners are running out of the drugs used to reduce the risk of HIV infection after a sexual assault.   “One mother recounted to our staff how her six daughters, the youngest just 12 years old, were systematically raped by armed men while searching for food.   Armed groups in DRC continue to commit grave violations against children, with OCHA reporting at least 1,500 cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against children in the past 1.5 months. UNICEF reports a five-fold increase in rape cases between January 27 and February 2, 2025, with 30 percent of victims being children. OHCHR confirmed summary executions of children by M23 in Bukavu, and the UN Child Rights Committee reported that 45 street children in Goma were killed by M23 after the group entered the city.   “Children and families across much of the eastern DRC continue to face relentless bombardment and gunfire. In recent months, thousands of vulnerable children in displacement camps have been forced to flee multiple times to escape the fighting.   “Parties to the conflict must immediately cease and prevent grave rights violations against children. They must also take concrete measures to protect civilians and infrastructure critical to their survival – in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law.   “Humanitarian partners must have safe, unimpeded access to reach all children and families in need – wherever they may be. UNICEF continues to call for increased diplomatic efforts to put an end to the military escalation, and to forge a lasting political solution to the violence, so that the country’s children can live in peace.”   http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-seeks-urgent-support-violence-eastern-dr-congo-leaves-hundreds-thousands http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/drc-m23-attacks-hospitals-gravely-concerning http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/children-drc-endure-grave-violations-under-siege-un-committee-warns http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-eastern-democratic-republic-congo-increasingly-exposed-sexual-violence http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/protection-alert-escalating-crisis-south-kivu-democratic-republic-congo-14-february-2025 http://www.unocha.org/publications/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-coordinator-alerts-humanitarian-consequences-crisis-south-kivu-and-calls-end-fighting http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories?responses=36 http://reliefweb.int/country/cod http://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/joint-statement-icrc-ifrc-red-cross-society-DRC http://news.un.org/en/tags/democratic-republic-congo   5 Feb. 2025   Rebels of the M23 armed group and allied Rwandan forces have launched a new offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).   Breaking a ceasefire they had declared unilaterally – M23 fighters and Rwandan troops seized a mining town in South Kivu province, resuming their advance towards the provincial capital, Bukavu.   The UN said the battle for the key city of Goma, which M23 and Rwandan troops seized last week, had left at least 2,900 people dead.   Vivian van de Perre, the deputy chief of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), gave an updated toll from the battle for the city.   “So far, 2,000 bodies have been collected from the Goma streets in recent days, and 900 bodies remain in the morgues of the Goma hospitals,” she told a news conference, saying the toll could still rise.   International criminal court prosecutors said in a statement they were “closely following” events in the eastern DRC, “including the grave escalation of violence over the past weeks”.   In Bukavu, a city of one million people that residents fear will become the next battleground, a crowd gathered for an ecumenical prayer service for peace, organised by local women. “We are tired of the non-stop wars. We want peace,” Jacqueline Ngengele, one of those who attended, told AFP.   http://www.msf.org/assistance-needed-people-leaving-and-staying-goma-drc-following-weeks-violence http://www.msf.org/democratic-republic-congo-drc http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/13/dr-congo-m23-drives-displaced-people-goma-camps http://africa.oxfam.org/latest/press-release/nearly-half-million-people-left-without-shelter-food-or-water-dr-congo-amid http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2025/02/serious-human-rights-concerns-situation-eastern-drc-deteriorates http://srdefenders.org/information/extreme-concern-for-the-security-of-human-rights-defenders-in-eastern-drc-en-fr/ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/05/democratic-republic-congo-goma-women-raped-burned-death-prison-m23-rebels-rwanda http://www.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/drc-open-letter-to-the-african-union-on-the-occasion-of-its-38th http://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/peace_in_the_drc_loc/ http://www.oikoumene.org/news/protestants-and-catholics-in-congo-launch-roadmap-to-peace   30 Jan. 2025   The extremely serious humanitarian situation in Goma requires immediate attention. (OCHA)   The Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Bruno Lemarquis, reiterates his deep concern over the critical situation in Goma. After several days of intense fighting, the city is now facing the devastating consequences of the hostilities, with massive humanitarian needs and severely strained response capacities.   Medical facilities are overwhelmed. Between 23 and 28 January, the hospitals in the city of Goma, supported by MSF, the ICRC and the WHO, treated more than 1,000 wounded, many of them civilians who had fallen victim to bullets and heavy artillery explosions. The lack of medicines, equipment and medical staff is jeopardizing the treatment of the wounded and increasing the risk of loss of life.   Basic services are largely paralyzed. Electricity and drinking water have been cut off for several days, forcing the population to draw directly on untreated water from Lake Kivu. This situation exposes thousands of people to the immediate risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera. The morgues are full, and the lifeless bodies left in the streets of the city pose a major health risk for the survivors.   Humanitarian infrastructure and warehouses have been looted, severely compromising the humanitarian response. Significant quantities of food, medicines, and essential medical supplies have been lost in targeted attacks on United Nations agencies and humanitarian NGOs critical to the emergency response.   This loss delays the rapid delivery of aid to populations in desperate need. Humanitarian actors on the ground continue their operations despite extremely precarious conditions. On behalf of all the humanitarian actors serving vulnerable populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I condemn in the strongest possible terms the looting of humanitarian facilities and warehouses.   These acts are unacceptable and constitute a violation of international humanitarian law. They directly compromise the delivery of vital aid to the most vulnerable populations.   I call on all parties to protect civilians and ensure their access to goods and services essential to their survival. I also call on all parties to facilitate, accelerate and protect the supply of humanitarian actors. Without supplies of essential goods, fuel and logistical equipment, it will be impossible to meet the needs of the population and to maintain humanitarian operations in Goma.   I call for the immediate opening of vital access points for humanitarian supplies and emergency response efforts, and the free movement of affected populations.   I also call for the strict respect of the rights of internally displaced persons and for all returns to be voluntary. Returns can only take place under safe, voluntary, and dignified conditions, in accordance with international principles. It is imperative to ensure that displaced persons have a free and informed choice, as well as secure and viable conditions for their return.   I call on the international community to step up its support in the face of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian actors remain on the ground, mobilized to scale up their response, but without adequate resources, the current crisis risks deteriorating even further. Immediate action is essential.   On behalf of the entire humanitarian community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I reaffirm that the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence of humanitarian actors are absolute and non-negotiable. Their sole mission is to provide assistance and protection to vulnerable populations, regardless of political considerations.   http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/extremely-serious-humanitarian-situation-goma-requires-immediate-attention-international-community http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-lifeline-drc-under-threat-ingos-call-urgent-action http://www.acaps.org/en/countries/archives/detail/drc-conflict-escalation-in-goma-north-kivu http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases/fear-mounts-as-violence-spreads-in-eastern-drc http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/un-experts-call-urgent-humanitarian-relief-and-political-solution-protect http://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/RES/S-37/1 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2025/01/drc-deepening-human-rights-crisis-amid-reports-further-m23-advances http://tinyurl.com/y64td2fr http://phr.org/news/doctors-trapped-in-hospitals-clinics-under-fire-in-eastern-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-drc-phr http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/drc-conflict-food-prices-skyrocket-goma-conflict-blocks-food-supplies http://reliefweb.int/country/cod   27 Jan. 2025   Children caught in heavy fighting in the town of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be protected with Save the Children concerned for their safety amid the worst escalation of violence in the country in more than a decade.   Currently about 2-3 million people live in Goma, including 1 million displaced people. Save the Children estimates over half of those – or over 1.5 million - are children.   People are trying to flee but with nowhere to go. Children have been affected in the chaos in and out of Goma.   Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s Country Director for DRC said:   “The situation is complex and horrific. There is no safe place to go from Goma. Every time a family flees the guns and bombs to a supposed safe place, they are forced to move again.   “Children have lost their parents. It’s a horrible, horrible place to be a child at the moment.. We have heard horrific reports of gang rape and violence against young children in recent weeks, and we hold grave fears for the wellbeing and safety of the children remaining in Goma or fleeing for their lives.   “Displacement camps on the outskirts of Goma have been emptied as people flee once again in search of safety. Thousands of families escaping from violence in Minova – 30km from Goma - are now stranded in areas lacking clean water and food supplies.   “The situation is desperate, and we need urgent global action, now. We urge all parties involved in the conflict to prioritise the protection of civilians and ensure unrestricted humanitarian access. We reiterate our call on the international community to take immediate actions to address the rapidly unfolding humanitarian crisis in the DRC. This includes providing emergency assistance to those displaced, supporting efforts to protect civilians and working towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict.   "What we ask most is peace to return, calm to return, so children can be safe and we can continue our essential humanitarian work.”   Conflict in DRC has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with nearly 7 million people, including at least 3.5 million children, displaced and more than 26 million people – or one in every four people – in need of humanitarian assistance.   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/drc-over-15-million-children-need-protection-goma-faces-heavy-fighting-save-children http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1159631 http://www.wfp.org/stories/photos-wfp-urges-action-conflict-pushes-displacement-and-hunger-east-drc http://www.wfp.org/news/crisis-eastern-drc-escalates-leads-greater-humanitarian-and-protection-needs http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-catastrophe-unfolds-north-and-south-kivu-violence-escalates-ingos-call-immediate-action   26 Jan. 2025 (AP, agencies)   Democratic Republic of Congo: The Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group and allied forces have entered the outskirts of the provincial capital Goma, home to over one million people on Sunday and the airport in the key eastern city was no longer in use, the top UN official in the country said.   The United Nations special representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bintou Keita, told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday that despite the support of international peacekeepers for the Congolese armed forces, M23 and Rwandan forces penetrated the Munigi quarter on the outskirts of Goma, “causing mass panic and flight amongst the population.” Munigi is 9 kilometers (5 miles) from Goma.   Keita said M23 fighters were advancing “as many of the populations were fleeing for their lives as fighting neared the capital.”   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his “strongest condemnation” of the M23 military offensive “with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces,” and called on the rebel group to immediately halt all hostile action and withdraw its forces.   Congo, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23 rebels. Rwanda’s government has acknowledged that it has troops (at least 4,000 according to the UN) and missile systems in eastern Congo to supposedly safeguard its security, in the mineral-rich region.   The Congolese Foreign Ministry said it was severing diplomatic ties with Rwanda and pulling out all diplomatic staff from the country “with immediate effect.”   On Sunday morning, heavy gunfire resonated across Goma, just a few kilometers (miles) from the front line. Scores of displaced children and adults fled the Kanyaruchinya camp, one of the largest in eastern Congo and headed south to Goma.   “We are fleeing because we saw soldiers on the border with Rwanda throwing bombs and shooting,” said Safi Shangwe, who was heading to Goma. “We are afraid, our children are at risk of starving,” she said.   Displaced people are worried they will not be safe in Goma, either. “We are going to Goma, but I heard that there are bombs in Goma, too, so now we don’t know where to go,” said Adele Shimiye.   Bintou Keita, said over 26 million people across Congo are in need humanitarian aid, “one of the highest numbers worldwide,” and the situation in the east is rapidly deteriorating.   “If hostilities spill into Goma – a densely populated urban center – the impact on civilians could well be devastating”.   Earlier in the week, M23 rebels seized Sake, 27 kilometers (16 miles) from Goma, as concerns mounted that the city could soon fall.   Since 2021, Congo’s government and allied forces, including SAMIDRC and UN troops, have been keeping M23 away from Goma. The UN peacekeeping force entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.   http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/drc-turk-calls-urgent-action-stem-grave-human-rights-crisis-goma http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2025/01/drc-risk-imminent-attack-goma http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-coordinator-expresses-deep-concern-over-impact-intensified-fighting-around-goma-civilians-and-humanitarian-operations http://www.unocha.org/news/scale-suffering-dr-congo-demands-urgent-attention-un-deputy-relief-chief-tells-security http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1159396 http://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2025-01-23/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-scroll-down-for-french-version http://news.un.org/en/audio/2025/01/1159416 http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-gravely-concerned-worsening-violence-and-humanitarian-crisis-eastern-dr   http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/01/25/dr-congo-civilians-risk-m23-approaches-goma http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/dr-congo-rwandan-backed-armed-group-and-congolese-army-must-stop-using-explosive-weapons-in-densely-populated-areas http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/escalating-violence-eastern-dr-congo-displaces-more-230-000-start-year http://www.internal-displacement.org/expert-analysis/m23-conflict-caused-nearly-3-out-of-every-4-displacements-in-the-drc-this-year/   * Some more independent commentary: http://theelders.org/news/elders-call-dialogue-and-accountability-end-worsening-conflict-dr-congo http://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/great-lakes/democratic-republic-congo/turbulence-drc-raises-hard-questions-eu http://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/great-lakes/democratic-republic-congo/fall-drcs-goma-urgent-action-needed-avert-regional-war http://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/great-lakes/democratic-republic-congo-rwanda/can-diplomacy-stop-rwandan-backed-rebels http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2025/01/31/drc-goma-capture-sparks-fears-deeper-regional-conflict-rwanda-backed-rebels-m23 http://www.passblue.com/2025/02/02/goma-congo-understanding-the-m23-and-rdf-attack/ http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr/publications/chinas-illegal-mining-operations-democratic-republic-congo http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/01/greed-cynicism-fuel-rwandas-war-drc/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/01/30/major-problems-mining-industrys-new-certification-standard http://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/stop-and-listen-pathways-to-meaningful-engagement-with-rights-holders-in-the-global-rush-to-mine-for-transition-minerals/   * UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo report Dec. 2024 (160pp): http://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n24/373/37/pdf/n2437337.pdf   http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/urgent-need-for-the-un-human-rights-council-to-create-an-independent-mandate-to-investigate-rights-violations-and-abuses-by-all-parties-in-eastern-democratic-republic-of-congo/   Oct. 2024   Armed violence, soaring food prices leave 25.6 million people in high levels of acute food insecurity. (FAO)   Armed violence and conflict continue to affect the livelihoods of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This, combined with soaring food prices and the prolonged effects of various epidemics have left approximately 25.6 million in high levels of acute food insecurity, classified as IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse).   Between July to December 2024, some 3.1 million people are facing critical levels of food insecurity – IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) – characterized by large food gaps and high levels of acute malnutrition. Another 19 percent (22.4 million people) are facing crisis levels of food insecurity, classified as IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).   The affected populations are spread throughout the country, however, the most affected populations are concentrated in the provinces of North Kivu, Ituri, South Kivu and Tanganyika, Maindombe – as well as populations affected by natural disasters and unemployment.   The analysis projected for January to June 2025 indicates a situation where food insecurity rates are expected to be almost identical to those of the current situation, with 25.5 million people (22 percent of the population analysed) projected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phases 3 or above), including around 3.3 million people who are projected to face critical levels of acute food insecurity (Phase 4) and 22.2 million people who will likely be in Phase 3.   “The food security situation remains critical for millions of people in the DRC,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of FAO's Office of Emergencies and Resilience. “Armed violence and competition for resources have caused massive damage on rural livelihoods and infrastructure, disrupting essential agricultural production.   Given the scale of this crisis, even a slight shock - such as rising food prices or a poor harvest - could push even more people to the brink. To reverse these grim trends, it is essential to end hostilities, restore local food production and support rural families to improve their food security and nutrition.”   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-113/en/   Aug. 2024   6 million people have been killed by conflict in eastern DRC since 1996. (MSF)   Violence is escalating in eastern DR Congo, where the humanitarian needs are dire and rising. A resurgence of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is worsening the already-dire humanitarian emergency in the country, forcing millions to flee their homes to overcrowded camps where access to basic needs is severely limited as needs skyrocket.   Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) teams working in DRC are witnessing how this latest escalation of violence is impacting people’s lives and compounding the humanitarian crisis, particularly in camps where displaced people are sheltering. As the conflict continues to unfold, here’s what to know about what’s happening in eastern DRC and how to help.   What's happening in DR Congo?   The violence we're seeing now in eastern DRC is part of a protracted conflict that has afflicted the region for decades. Its lush, fertile land is rich with natural resources like gold, copper, lithium, and oil, which armed groups have been fighting to access and control as millions of civilians are caught in between, facing attacks, repeated displacement, and increasingly dire conditions in camps. Overview: DR Congo   DRC is the second-largest country in Africa, about the size of Western Europe. Today, 7.2 million people are displaced in DRC—a record for the country— and the vast majority are in the eastern provinces.   According to the UN, DRC is one of the five conflict zones with the highest numbers of serious violations against children, alongside Palestine, Somalia, Ukraine, and Syria.   75 percent of the population live on less than $2.15 per day, making DRC one of the poorest countries in the world. Childhood vaccine coverage is the lowest in 30 years, according to the World Health Organization.   An estimated 6 million people have been killed by conflict in eastern DRC since 1996.   Resurgence of the M23 conflict   The Congolese army and its allies are fighting the March 23 Movement, known as M23, which has been progressively taking over territory eastern DRC since 2022. The fighting began to intensify in January 2024, causing mass casualties and displacement. North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces are the most affected. The escalation has impacted people’s access to health care, food, and other basic needs, triggering mass waves of displacement and raising the risk of disease outbreaks.   Repeated waves of mass displacement   Over 5 million people are displaced across Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, including 2 million who have fled in just the last two years. As people continue to flee the fighting, displacement camps around Goma, the capital of North Kivu, are growing more crowded and living conditions are deteriorating further. Visit the related web page
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