The UN temporarily suspends its humanitarian aid flights in Goma due to insecurity in the DRC

27 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations has temporarily suspended its humanitarian aid flights in the Congolese city of Goma, located in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), due to increased insecurity due to armed attacks and clashes between the Army and the rebels. of the March 23 Movement (M23).

The World Food Program (WFP) has indicated in statements given to the Congolese radio station Radio Okapi that the decision has been taken after a helicopter of the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) was targeted by shots on Friday before landing .

The agency has indicated that the device was able to land in Goma without major incidents and has highlighted that all its occupants – three crew members and ten passengers – were unharmed, in the second incident of this type in recent weeks.

The eastern DRC is the scene of a deepening crisis of displaced persons due to the latest advances of the M23, amid Kinshasa’s accusations against Rwanda for supporting the rebel group, something rejected by Kigali, which accuses the neighboring country of inciting the armed conflict.

The heads of state of the East African Community (EAC) called on February 17 during a summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for the “ordered” withdrawal by March 30 of all armed groups, a specific reference to the M23.

The M23 is a rebel group made up mainly of Congolese Tutsis and operating mainly in the North Kivu province. Following a conflict between 2012 and 2013, the RDC and the group signed a peace agreement in December. In these combats, the DRC Army had the support of United Nations troops.

The group launched a new offensive in October 2022, intensified as of November, which has caused a diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda over their role in the conflict. UN experts pointed out in December to the existence of “substantial evidence” of “direct intervention” by the Rwandan Army in the conflict.