Conflict, natural disaster displace nearly 7M in DR Congo: UN migration agency

By Hassan Isilow

About 7 million people remain internally displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to ongoing conflict and disasters, the UN migration agency said.

The internal displacement overview report of the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said there were 6.9 million people displaced in the DR Congo between June and August.

IOM said its report presents an updated country-level displacement overview.

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has a complex internal displacement situation with a diverse set of drivers and impacts. In the country’s eastern provinces, armed conflict and insecurity have long been the primary drivers of the large-scale protracted displacement that the region experiences,” IOM said in its report on X.

The report said 87% of internally displaced persons (IDPs) were affected nationally due to conflict, while 13% of IDPs are due to natural disasters.

According to the report, several provinces recorded IDPs, including Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika. Others affected provinces include, Tshopo, Haut-Lomami, Maniema, Kinshasa and Mai-Ndombe.

Several rebel groups operate in the eastern DR Congo, where conflict has been ongoing for many years with recent renewed clashes between Congolese armed forces and the M23 rebels. According to reports, about 6 million people have been killed in conflicts in DR Congo since 1996.