Aid organizations condemn attack on humanitarian convoy in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The British charity Tearfund said on Monday that two of its employees were still missing following the attack.

In a statement on Tuesday, the organization announced the “tragic death.”

The convoy was leaving a combat zone and heading north when it was attacked near the town of Butembo in the Lubero region by youths who suspected rebel infiltration, local sources said.

“At a time when humanitarian needs are immense, it is unacceptable that those trying to help those affected are being attacked and killed,” UN coordinator Bruno Lemarquis said in a statement.

“The safety and protection of humanitarian workers must be ensured and the perpetrators of these actions must be identified and brought to justice,” he added.

The attacks on humanitarian workers are “disadvantaging many Congolese civilians who urgently need the vital assistance they need to survive,” said a statement by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

A group of international NGOs operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo warned on Tuesday: “Extreme violence against an NGO carrying out its important work seriously undermines the ability of all organizations to fulfil their important mission.”

OCHA said: “Since the beginning of the year, more than 170 security incidents have directly targeted humanitarian workers, leaving at least four dead and 20 injured.”

The Rwandan-backed M23 was able to further increase its influence in North Kivu at the end of last week and take over further areas, including the strategically important town of Kanyabayonga, which is considered the gateway to the major trading centers of Butembo and Beni.

Fighting also broke out in the region on Tuesday, local sources told AFP news agency.

OCHA stated that this “escalation of violence (…) continues to displace populations, creating significant additional humanitarian needs.”

According to the UN body, there are already 2.8 million displaced people in North Kivu.

Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting the Tutsi-led rebel group M23, which Kigali denies.

The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been plagued by fighting between local and foreign armed groups for 30 years, with rich roots stretching back to the regional wars of the 1990s.

bur-at/keo