KAMPALA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Uganda said on Tuesday that the United Nations has evacuated part of its staff from Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following intense fighting.
Henry Okello Oryem, Uganda's minister of state for foreign affairs in charge of international cooperation, told Xinhua by telephone that the UN's administrative and non-essential staff have been evacuated to Kampala, Uganda's capital, as a precautionary measure amid the ongoing escalation of hostilities and territorial advances by the March 23 Movement (M23), a rebel group.
"The relocation and evacuation of the non-essential and civilian staff of the UN from Goma to Uganda, in this particular case, is a precautionary measure for their safety and security. We shall update on the number when the evacuation is done," said Oryem.
"In most cases where the UN is operating, as peacekeepers or any format, if the security situation does deteriorate due to war or conflict, the standard procedure is normally to evacuate the civilian UN staff out of the danger zone because they aren't combatants and militants. They could be misunderstood by the parties involved in the conflict," he added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that he was deeply concerned by the escalating violence in the eastern DRC, and reiterated his strongest condemnation of the M23's ongoing offensive and advances toward Goma.
Guterres called on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas. More than 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of 2025 in the eastern DRC, according to the UN. ■