Bruno Lemaki, the UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs in the Congo, issued an announcement on the 8th saying that the recent armed conflict in South Kivu province in eastern Congo continued to escalate, killing at least 74 people. Lemaki said that there have been intense exchanges of fire using heavy weapons in various regions of South Kivu province for several days, and some densely populated areas and civilian facilities have been shelled. According to preliminary reports, at least 74 people died and 83 were injured from the 2nd to 7th of this month. Lemaki said that the escalation of the conflict has triggered a new round of large-scale population movements. More than 200,000 people have been displaced in South Kivu since 2 December, and thousands more have taken refuge across the border to Burundi and Rwanda.

Bruno Lemaki, the UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs in the Congo, issued an announcement on the 8th saying that the recent armed conflict in South Kivu province in eastern Congo continued to escalate, killing at least 74 people. Lemaki said that there have been intense exchanges of fire using heavy weapons in various regions of South Kivu province for several days, and some densely populated areas and civilian facilities have been shelled. According to preliminary reports, at least 74 people died and 83 were injured from the 2nd to 7th of this month. Lemaki said that the escalation of the conflict has triggered a new round of large-scale population movements. More than 200,000 people have been displaced in South Kivu since 2 December, and thousands more have taken refuge across the border to Burundi and Rwanda.