Humanitarian crisis worsens amid fighting upsurge in eastern Congo: UN. M23 rebels in the Kivus stated aim to take Kinshasa. Clashes put local communities and humanitarian workers in extreme danger. UNICEF: Reports of grave violations committed against children in parts of the eastern DRC have tripled since the end of January, Xinhua news agency reported. The WFP said about 1 million people were displaced since the beginning of 2025 when the M23 seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and the South KivU capital of Bukavu. The eastern D Congo is rich in minerals. The World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily suspended its operations in areas near and around the frontlines. The number of cases of sexual violence have risen by more than two and a half times, abductions have increased sixfold, killing and maiming are up sevenfold, and attacks on schools and hospitals have multiplied by 12. In Ituri, violence is usually attributed to fighting over land and resources and between ethnic groups.
