Thousands of displaced in DRC stranded as rebels close settlement camps

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels controlling cities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have forcibly closed settlement camps, leading to the displacement of more than 110,000 people in recent days, the UN and locals said.

M23 issued a 72-hour ultimatum to displaced people to leave settlement camps and return to their villages, the UN's humanitarian aid coordination agency, OCHA, said in its briefing on Tuesday. It was the latest action taken by the rebels after they said their priority was to restart normal activities in the city.

Though the rebels later clarified that returns should be voluntary, OCHA said more than 110,000 displaced people have left such camps for distant villages that aid groups have warned are further afar from the reach of aid.

"I am surprised because we are asked to leave, yet I have nothing to give to the children," said Sibomana Safari, who was leaving Bulengo displacement camp in the city. "We all (are) leaving without any help (and) I don't know if we’re going to make it," said Safari.

At least 500,000 people have been displaced in the region following the M23's advance, according to the Forum of International Non-Governmental Organisations.

Goma was hosting close to a million displaced people before the escalation of fighting on February 26.

Kwimana Sifa, among those leaving the Bulengo displacement camp, said he had no place to go after a bomb destroyed his house.

"It is better to leave us here. Although we lack food, we have shelter here," a distraught Sifa said. "What we want is just peace and nothing else."

US aid pause implications

Meanwhile, the top UN aid official in the country said the US pause on foreign aid has had a "major impact" in DRC.

Bruno Lemarquis said that in 2024, the UN humanitarian response plan for DRC received $1.3 billion, of which $910 million came from the United States. He said that since US President Donald Trump imposed a pause on foreign aid last month, some programmes have had to shut down.

"Our ultra dependence on US funding means a lot of programmes had to shut down on everything we are doing. So, it's emergency health, it's emergency shelter," said Lemarquis, adding that coordination capacity in his own office had to halt.

"This is having major impact. Despite these challenges, we are here to stay and deliver," he told reporters via video from the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. He said that UN agencies and international aid groups had been affected.

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Source: TRT