KINSHASA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Tuesday that about 1 million people have been displaced since the beginning of 2025 in Goma, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) seized by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.
According to a report by the WFP, the security situation in the DRC has worsened significantly since M23 rebels took control of Goma and Bukavu, the respective capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
Since 2025, hostilities have displaced about 1 million people from Goma, a regional urban center that was home to about 1 million residents and more than 700,000 displaced persons.
The ongoing insecurity in the eastern part of the country has also triggered civil unrest, looting, and disruption of humanitarian supply chains, forcing the WFP to temporarily suspend its operations in areas near and around the frontlines.
The UN cited Goma as a vital logistics hub for regional humanitarian aid distribution. However, the closure of Goma's international airport significantly hampered these operations.
In mid-February, a humanitarian corridor was established in Goma, enabling the World Health Organization to deliver aid supplies to the region through Kenya and Rwanda, according to Samuel Roger Kamba, the DRC health minister.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned on Friday that the conflict in the DRC could spiral into a broader regional crisis. "The potential for regional spillover from the conflict in the DRC is a reality," Lacroix said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
"A regional escalation must be avoided at all costs," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said recently at the 38th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. "There is no military solution. The deadlock must end, and dialogue must begin."
The mineral-rich eastern DRC remains a hotspot of conflict, with various groups vying for control over resources such as coltan, tin, tantalum, and gold. ■
