Residents look at dozens of bodies being buried in a cemetery in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Monday. ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP
As the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continues to restore essential services in the Democratic Republic of Congo's city of Goma, they have called on the international community for assistance in addressing the humanitarian crisis arising from the armed conflict and violence.
Myriam Favier, the head of the ICRC's sub-delegation in Goma, said that humanitarian organizations are facing the challenges of meeting the growing humanitarian needs with limited resources. She added that the ICRC and the humanitarian community rely heavily on international support to continue their work and emphasized the importance of international cooperation and funding to address the crisis in the DRC.
"Following the use of heavy artillery in densely populated areas, we have witnessed the severe impact of recent hostilities on essential services, including electricity and water but we have put in efforts to provide fuel and repair infrastructure," Favier said.
"So far, we have recorded over 1,500 wounded people since early January, with daily influxes of 100-150 patients. That is why we need increased humanitarian funding and resources in the face of disease outbreaks," she added.
Despite the challenges of the ongoing conflict, Favier commended the ICRC's quick response, which included providing fuel to water providers and hospitals and repairing electricity lines.
"The maintenance and restoration of essential services such as health care and access to water, whether in urban or rural areas, is part of our everyday activities under our mandate to protect people affected by armed conflict," Favier said.
She added that volunteers from the DRC's national Red Cross Society have also assisted in recovering the bodies of casualties from the fighting. The ICRC has provided supplies, such as body bags, and offered technical and logistical support to avert any cases of disease outbreak.
Despite saying that the situation in Goma had stabilized, Favier noted that hostilities persist, and humanitarian needs continue to grow. On Sunday, the African Union warned against the break-up of the DRC after M23 armed rebel forces reportedly entered a second city in the country's east.
While speaking at the African Union Summit's 38th Ordinary Session in Ethiopia on Sunday, Bankole Adeoye, the AU's Peace and Security Commissioner, called for the immediate removal of M23 rebels and their supporters from all towns and cities, including Goma airport.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the AU Summit on Saturday, urged regional leaders to avoid further escalations of the conflict at all cost. He said the Congolese people have been suffering from a brutal cycle of violence and the fighting that is raging in the east, as a result of the continuation of the M23 offensive, threatens to push the entire region over the edge.
"There is no military solution. The deadlock must end, dialogue must begin, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected," Guterres said
Earlier in January, M23 rebels took over the provincial capital of Goma before pushing south in an escalation of violence in eastern DRC, a region already plagued by decades of conflict.
