UN News Today 14 February 2025 |

Displacement crisis worsens in eastern DR Congo

Humanitarians continue to warn about the growing displacement crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the DRC, where M23 rebels continue to make headway while aid routes are cut off.

The rebels captured the regional capital Goma, located in North Kivu province, in late January.  They are advancing towards the key city of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, following a recent pause in the fighting.

Here’s Eujin Byun, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, speaking on Friday to journalists in Geneva:

“The crisis is worsening as people flee to areas where humanitarian aid cannot reach due to insecurity. In South Kivu, over 50 per cent of humanitarian organizations providing critical support to survivors of sexual violence report being unable to reach those in need due to insecurity and continuous displacement.”

Meanwhile, in North Kivu, the destruction of health facilities, including mortuaries, and overcrowded hospitals is increasing the risk of the spread of infectious diseases, including cholera, malaria, and measles.

She said “heavy artillery shelling and looting” have destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and the South Kivu town of Minova, leaving some 350,000 internally displaced people “once again without a roof over their heads”.

From Ethiopia, Guterres urges greater international support for Sudan

The UN Secretary-General is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 38th African Union Summit where he will take part in meetings on the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the continuing war between rival militaries in Sudan.

On Friday, António Guterres told a high-level humanitarian conference on Sudan that the international community “must do more – and do more now to help the people of Sudan out of this nightmare.”

He said the country was “in the grip of a crisis of staggering scale and brutality…that is increasingly spilling over into the wider region” and the situation “demands sustained and urgent attention, from the African Union and the broader international community.”

Mr. Guterres is a former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and he recalled seeing firsthand how the Sudanese people supported both internally displaced nationals as well as refugees from countries including Eritrea, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

He said the international community must now show “the same level of support to the Sudanese people in their moment of despair as the Sudanese people once showed to their neighbours in distress,” adding that the pledges made “will be the expression of that support.”

Next week, the UN and partners will launch two humanitarian appeals totalling $6 billion to support nearly 21 million people inside Sudan and up to five million more, primarily refugees, in neighbouring countries.

Ukraine: Chernobyl nuclear plant attack underscores need for ‘maximum military restraint’

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has again called for “maximum military restraint around Ukraine’s nuclear sites” following a reported drone attack early on Friday morning at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

The attack caused a fire at the building containing the remains of the reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster – the world’s worst nuclear accident. No casualties were reported.

IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said the incident was deeply concerning and underlines the persistent risks to nuclear safety during the military conflict. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine will enter a fourth year later this month.

Ukraine informed the IAEA team at the site that a drone had struck the New Safe Confinement shield, a large structure built to prevent any radioactive release from the damaged reactor and to protect it from any external hazard.

Supplementary information from Ukraine’s regulatory body confirmed that the outer cladding had sustained damage. Investigations are underway to determine the status of the inner cladding.

The IAEA team was informed that radiation levels inside and outside the reinforced building remain normal and stable.

Mr. Grossi noted that the incident comes in the wake of a recent increase in military activity near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, once again demonstrating that nuclear safety remains under constant threat for as long as the conflict continues.

Dianne Penn, UN News

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