from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
DRC Bureau
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – MORE than 100 lives have been lost amid the heavy rains and flooding battering South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
This is the latest plague in the conflict and disease-prone region of the troubled central African country.
Among those dead following the inclement weather are women, children and the elderly.
Many hundreds of people have been displaced in a region that has some of the world’s most severe displacement crises.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) expressed its condolences to those impacted by the recent heavy rain and flooding, which it said was exacerbating the suffering and increasing the needs of communities harmed by months of violence between the Congolese Armed Forces and the Mouvement du 23 Mars ( M23).
Nearly 1,2 million have been displaced from their homes in North and South Kivu provinces since January, while another 1,8 million have been compelled to return to their areas of origin with little to no access to assistance.
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in eastern DRC lack access to critical services including shelter, health care, access to water and protection assistance.
“We continue to try to scale up efforts to ensure lifesaving aid reaches people in need in DRC while calling for durable solutions,” said an IOM spokesperson.
– CAJ News