Ongoing violence and the resultant surge in humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) attracted the attention of the European Union (EU) with its Parliament told “this is not a new crisis it is an escalation of the crisis within the crisis”.
Speaking in Strasbourg, France, on behalf of Vice President Kaja Kallas, EU Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Suica called the humanitarian situation in the sprawling central African country “devastating”.
Ahead of “developments” this week there were 800 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) around Goma “cramped in heavily populated sites”.
“Since the attack on Goma by M23 and the Rwanda Army, many displacement sites are now reported to have been emptied: some occupants have fled to other neighbourhoods of Goma, others have attempted to return to their villages in the Masisi and Rutshuru territories, which are currently under M23 control. The risk of forced closure of the remaining sites is high due to the policy of M23, which opposes the presence of this kind of sites in areas under its control.
“There are reports from Goma of around 3 000 deaths caused by the fighting, with bodies in the streets and overloaded morgues. All hospitals in this town are overcrowded and many are operating at twice their capacity. The threat for epidemics such as cholera is growing,” she told Members of the EU Parliament (EUMPs).
“Humanitarian actors are starting to return now fighting is over and assessments for restarting the response as soon as possible are ongoing, notably at sites for displaced and medical facilities,” she said, adding, “response is hampered by the security situation and a lack of available commodities, as humanitarian aid agency warehouses were broken into and looted during the fighting”.
The Renew Europe Group, a liberal, centrist to centre-right, pro-European political group of the European Parliament, saidit strongly condemns the occupation of Goma and other territories in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the M23 and Rwandan presence “a clear violation of international law, the UN Charter and of country’s territorial integrity.”
“Moreover, the attacks with explosive weapons in populated areas and use of sexual violence against women and girls as a tool of repression and weapon of war, together with the unacceptable recruitment of child soldiers by the various rebel groups, must stop and be addressed by the international community,” it added.
Renew Europe demanded the adoption of urgent measures by the EU, including targeted sanctions, the freezing of the direct budget support to Rwanda, the immediate suspension of the Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains with Rwanda and to effectively ban the entry of all blood minerals into the EU.
Echoing Suica’s words was United Nations (UN) deputy Secretary-General spokesman Farhan Haq who told media in New York yesterday (Wednesday) MONUSCO contractors were denied access to Goma by armed M23 rebels when attempting to deliver food.
“MONUSCO,” Haq said, “reports continued obstruction by the M23 for the safe disposal of unexploded ordnance – including one that poses a direct threat to both peacekeepers and unarmed Congolese Armed Forces personnel within MONUSCO premises”.
