International
DRC:13 million people in need of humanitarian aid, UN says
There is dire need of humanitarian assistance for 13 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to internal conflict gripping the country, so says the United Nation’s Security Council.
According to the UN Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock, the ongoing political turmoil, malnutrition, and cholera outbreak in the country requires urgent humanitarian aid.
“More than 4.6 million children are acutely malnourished, including 2.2 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition,” Lowcock said.
“We’re seeing mushrooming epidemics including the worst outbreak of cholera in 15 years. There’s also an epidemic of sexual violence – most of it unreported and unaddressed – and much of it against children.”
Read also: DRC: Authorities block Internet access as protests continue
Inter-ethnic violence and protests against President Kabila is blamed for the current turmoil in the Central African country.
Last month, a fresh outbreak of violence in the north-eastern province of Ituri, between the Hema and Lendu communities left no less than 33 people dead according to local authorities.
Reports say the unrest between the two communities is one of several conflicts in DR Congo which have produced a huge amount of refugees with an estimated 200,000 people forced to flee their homes as a result of the violence.
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