Top official warns shortage of aid routes threatens relief operation in DRC

By Anjali Sharma

UNITED NATIONS – UN humanitarian coordinator in DRC Bruno Lemarquis on Thursday warned that increasing “complexity and needs” are fuelling a crisis which had already left more than a million people displaced before the latest surge in fighting.

Bruno Lemarquis warned “The frontline is getting closer to Kavumu Airport”.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group is making headway against Congolese Government forces towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu after the fall of regional capital Goma, in North Kivu.

Humanitarian Coordinator reported that the city is only 20 miles away from Kavumu, which is home to the province’s main airport.

The commercial airfield a 20 mile drive from Bukavu is mainly being used for military operations by Kinshasa’s regular forces.

Mr. Lemarquis said “Until recently, it was our main lifeline for bringing personnel to South Kivu,”.

Goma airport, which remains non-operational, that window has now closed, he added.

Mr. Lemarquis recalled that the humanitarian situation in South Kivu was already dire.

He noted 1.65 million people, or over 20 per cent of the province’s population, had been displaced for a wide range of reasons.

“There are other conflicts in the province, community tensions, tensions related to land,” he explained.

South Kivu is prone to natural disasters, including landslides on the shores of Lake Kivu, which are responsible for many displacements.

“So, we had a major humanitarian operation running in South Kivu,” said Mr. Lemarquis.

The recent advances of the M23 rebels, whose incursion in South Kivu is the first since the withdrawal of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC from the province in June 2024, are compounded historic problems.

“This will only add complexity and needs,” he said.

Mr. Lemarquis estimated that the clashes in the province had displaced at least 170,000, a figure that does not include estimates for the past two weeks.

He noted an influx of people moving towards Bukavu, where 1.3 million people reside.

“Depending on how the situation evolves, in the coming days, we can imagine that there will be an even larger influx of population towards the city of Bukavu, then out of the city, towards the South,” he explained.

He added, would hinder vulnerable people’s access to health and social services.

Mr. Lemarquis also voiced concern over the spread of infectious diseases as fighting continues in South Kivu, a province rife with cholera.

“When essential services are impaired, this can lead to epidemic outbreaks,” he warned.

He added because the province is currently the global epicentre of a new mpox strain, known as clade 1b, which is particularly prevalent around Kalehe, the city now controlled by M23.

Mr. Lemarquis said that the road from Goma to Minova, the first South Kivu town conquered by the M23 in mid-January, is no longer closed.

“There were a few rather difficult days for our humanitarian colleagues because of the fighting,” he acknowledged. “But now access has been restored.”

He said that humanitarian access has been cut off in southern province.

“For quite some time, the road between Goma and Bukavu has not been accessible,” he said.

The alternative pathways, including via Lake Kivu, which borders the province and connects Goma in the north to Bukavu in the south, have also been cut off.

“There aren’t many alternative routes, the airport being the main access route,” he acknowledged.