UN humanitarian coordinator expresses concern over DR Congo clash

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Cong (DR Congo), Moustapha Soumare, has expressed concern about the deteriorating situation in the eastern province of North Kivu, after the resumption of fighting between the Congolese army and the rebel M23 group. "The resumption of fighting near inhabited zones poses serious problems of protecting thousands of people and risks having serious humanitarian consequences," Soumare said in a statement on Tuesday. "I want to appeal to all the parties in the conflict to take necessary measures to save the civilian population from any harm in accordance with the provisions of the International Humanitarian Law and the Human Rights principles," he added. The coordinator urged the parties in the conflict to ensure that humanitarian actors have unrestricted access to the populations in need of assistance, regardless of where they are located. In North Kivu, humanitarian agencies have defied the precarious security conditions to provide assistance to thousands of suffering people in the aftermath of the clash, which erupted on Sunday. The province is hosting 967,000 internally displaced persons, more than a third of the 2.6 million displaced across the Central African country.