Violence worsening in DR Congo’s Ituri province

The United Nations has voiced concern over the deteriorating security situation in Ituri province in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which is affecting humanitarian agencies’ ability to deliver assistance to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.

An estimated 400 civilians have been killed in the region and over 83,000 people fled their homes since 1 January due to the violence, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

It said “reports of civilians being killed, wounded or displaced have become a daily occurrence.”

The violence has forced aid agencies to either delay, suspend or relocate operations.

The UN said “1.9 million people were displaced within Ituri and some three million others were severely food insecure.”

Many armed groups operate in conflict-torn Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province, where a martial law in place since last May has failed to end bloodshed.

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq