UN relief chief visits conflict-affected communities in eastern DRC

WASHINGTON

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher continued his visit Wednesday to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), touring conflict-hit areas in eastern provinces.

Fletcher is in the east, where more than 20 million people need humanitarian assistance, after meeting Monday with Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and officials in the national capital of Kinshasa.

On Wednesday, Fletcher was in Minova, in South Kivu province, where he visited a water supply and waste management project helping displaced and local residents. He also visited a mobile clinic providing health care to those affected by conflict.

Fletcher also visited the city of Sasha on Wednesday.

Later, he traveled to Goma in North Kivu province, where he met communities and humanitarian partners to discuss humanitarian needs across the DRC.

Fletcher will continue his visit Thursday in Goma.

The M23 rebels at the center of the conflict in eastern Congo have seized significant territory since December, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu in North and South Kivu, intensifying instability in a region long plagued by armed groups.

The Congolese government accuses neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels fighting in eastern Congo, a claim Kigali denies.

The UN reports that more than 7.8 million people have been displaced by the conflict.