United Nations, March 5 (IANS) Increased violence in the three easternmost provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is raising deep concern for civilians, including aid workers, a UN humanitarian official said.

Bruno Lemarquis, the UN resident humanitarian coordinator for the DRC, voiced alarm over the recent increase in targeted violence against civilians, including relief workers, and civilian infrastructure in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

Lemarquis said in a statement that the attacks, including the abduction of dozens of patients from two hospitals, are serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws. They threaten operations providing relief to millions of civilians.

In Ituri province, local authorities report that more than 16,000 people fled clashes in the territory of Djugu since Thursday. The area has seen an escalation in clashes and attacks by armed groups, resulting in civilian casualties and displacement.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a new report on displaced people returning to the eastern DRC.

“They say that Congolese nationals fleeing the conflict, as well as those outside the country who originate from the area affected by the conflict, may need refugee protection under international and regional legal frameworks,” Dujarric said. “Close to 80,000 men, women and children have fled to neighbouring countries, including around 61,000 who arrived in Burundi since January.”

UNHCR said that around the North Kivu capital of Goma, about 17,000 people remain in displacement sites, schools and churches, while 414,000 people have been on the move for the past four weeks, encouraged by the de facto authorities to return to their villages of origin.

The agency said that at least 209,000 people from the sites arrived spontaneously in Masisi, Nyiragongo, and Rutshuru territories, where basic services are not equipped for the sudden surge of people. Given the widespread insecurity in the provinces and surrounding areas, many more may need to cross borders to find protection and assistance, Xinhua news agency reported.

UNHCR called on neighbouring countries to register all asylum-seekers from the DRC and provide them with documentation.

The spokesman said UN peacekeepers reported the situation around Goma remains highly unstable. The M23 rebels, who invaded Goma over a month ago, continue consolidating its city control with checkpoints and patrols.

“This, our colleagues say, continues to restrict the peacekeepers’ freedom of movement and access to the airport in Goma,” Dujarric said.

The spokesman said that in Ituri, a patrol was deployed to Pimbo in the Djugu territory following an attack by members of the CODECO armed group in the area.

He also said the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, sent a peacekeeping patrol to Matate, northeast of the provincial capital of Bunia, in response to an attack by suspected members of the Zaire militia, which resulted in two civilians killed and one injured.

–IANS

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