UN relief wing warns of deteriorating security in North Kivu, DR Congo
Xinhua, January 23, 2016 Adjust font size:
The UN relief wing warned on Friday that the security situation is deteriorating in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo where kidnapping of aid workers and civilians as well as attacks on convoys have increased.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told a daily briefing that the deteriorating security situation has often forced organizations to delay the delivery of aid and other essential operations or entirely suspend activities.
According to Haq, Medecins Sans Frontieres, an international medical humanitarian organization, announced on Wednesday the closure of one of its medical projects that helped nearly 200,000 patients in 2015 after one of its convoys was robbed and two staff abducted in December.
"OCHA and its partners call on Congolese authorities and all relevant parties to do even more to improve the security situation allowing humanitarian organizations to work and save lives," said Haq.
UN statistics show that more than 7.5 million people need humanitarian aid across the DR Congo. On Thursday, UN Staff Union said that kidnapping and abductions have appeared to be a growing threat to the UN personnel working in the fields. Enditem