Escalating fighting in the DRC's Masisi territory of the North Kivu province in the eastern DRC forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes since the beginning of 2025, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC Bruno Lemarquis said in a statement.
"Since January 1, 2025, more than 100,000 people have been displaced from Masisi territory as a result of ongoing clashes between M23 and the Congolese army," the statement read.
The intensified activities of the M23 rebel group and other armed groups in recent weeks have led to a steady increase in civilian and displaced casualties in both North Kivu and Ituri provinces, with violence also targeting people in Internally Displaced People (IDP) sites, in complete violation of the humanitarian nature of these sites, he emphasized.
"Humanitarian workers also pay a high price. The year 2024 was particularly deadly, with nine humanitarian workers killed and over 400 incidents directly targeting humanitarian organizations and their activities," Lemarquis noted, reiterating that civilians, humanitarian workers and essential civilian infrastructure must never be targeted.
Expressing dismay at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in North Kivu, Lemarquis condemned the violence against civilians and humanitarian workers and called on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and human rights.
Clashes between rebels and government forces continue despite a ceasefire agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, which came into force on August 4 as part of the Luanda process to mediate a solution to the ongoing conflict between the DRC army and M23 rebels, allegedly backed by neighboring Rwanda.