17 07 13 UN News Center: New emergency arises as fighting uproots thousands from eastern DR Congo – UN

Fighting has broken out
close to the provincial capital of Goma between Congolese Government forces
(FARDC) and the armed group known as the M23 movement after a two-month lull.
This has led to displacement among the civilian population, including
preventive displacement, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR).

“With a deteriorating situation in Masisi – to the
north-west of Goma – a steady stream of about 600 people a week has been
crossing into Uganda's
Kisoro district,” UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva. “More skirmishes
are likely and we fear that they could trigger a bigger exodus.”

The agency has sent
plastic sheeting for shelter construction, plates and cups, and temporary
latrine kits as well as soap for the new arrivals, and provided fuel for
transfers to the transit centre.

On Monday, UNHCR sent an
additional emergency shipment of tents, plastic rolls, blankets, sleeping mats
and fuel. Other items such as larger tents for office use as well as plastic
tables and chairs are also being arranged. Partner UN agencies are also providing
food and water.

Separately, tens of
thousands of refugees have fled into western Uganda
after the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group, captured the
North Kivu town of Kamango.

The Uganda Red Cross has
so far registered more than 66,000 refugees in the country's Bundibugyo
district.

“Together with our partners, we have completed
joint assessment missions and begun moving emergency food and non-food aid to
the area. The refugees are living in any space available, including schools,
with host families and even in gardens,” said Mr. Edwards.

Even before the arrival
of the newest refugees, Uganda
was already home to more than 210,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers,
more than 60 per cent of whom came from the DRC.