The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) expressed “deep concern” about the latest bout of fighting which broke out after a significant group of the M23 attacked the national forces (FARDC) on 14 July in Mutaho, eight kilometres northwest of Goma, in eastern DRC. According to the Mission, heavy artillery and a battle tank were used in the attack.

“Any attempt by the M23 to advance toward Goma will be considered a direct threat to civilians,” the Mission warned. It also noted that the UN blue helmets stand ready to take any necessary measures, including the use of lethal force, in order to protect civilians.

The acting Special Representative of the Secretary General in the country, Moustapha Soumaré, urged restraint to avoid a further escalation of the situation.

“I call on all to abide by the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement and to allow the political process towards peace to move forward,” Soumaré said, referring to the UN-brokered accord adopted in February with the support of 11 nations and four international organizations (11+4), with the aim of ending the cycles of conflict and crisis in the eastern DRC and to build peace in the long-troubled Great Lakes region.

“I urge all signatories of the PSC Framework to exercise their influence in order to avoid an escalation of the situation,” he added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mary Robinson, the UN Special Envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes Region, along with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, visited the DRC in May to bolster support for the PSC Framework which Ms. Robinson dubbed a “framework for hope.”

Last month, there was talk of a possible resumption of peace talks between the Government of the DRC and the M23. At that time, Mrs. Robinson had urged both sides to engage in earnest discussion under the auspices of the Chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Mr. Robinson was convened in Burundi last week a conference to help develop a road map for women’s engagement in efforts to bring peace to Africa’s long-trouble Great Lakes countries.

Since March, tensions in the region have been heightened, leading to the Security Council to authorize in March the deployment of an intervention brigade within MONUSCO to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without FARDC, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC.

The camp is one of five sites that have swollen with new arrivals since the recent upsurge in violence in the region.

North Kivu province has been the site of relentless fighting for over a decade. Since April, the beginning of the current crisis, an estimated 500,000 people have been displaced in the province. Many of these families had already been displaced and were living in sites for displaced persons or with host families, only to be displaced yet again.

Febe Bushu and her family have been displaced twice. In September, they fled their home in Pinga, some 80 km northeast of Walikale in North Kivu. “We left Pinga because of the war. Everyone was fleeing,” she says. Constantly pushed south by fighting, the family walked for a full two weeks before they reached Goma, where they found temporary refuge with a host family.

Two weeks ago, she and her family had to leave again because food was too scarce. “The family had nothing at all, so we felt it was best to leave,” says Ms. Bushu. Today, the family live at Bulengo.

Most of the displaced population have left their homes or places of refuge quickly, with few belongings. Many have been forced to sleep in makeshift shelters. The improvised shelters provide little protection from the frequent, seasonal rain, especially during the night.

“Many still lack proper shelter to keep themselves dry and warm,” says UNICEF Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Barbara Bentein. “When children get wet and cannot change their clothes, they become more at risk of falling sick and suffering from infectious diseases such as pneumonia.”

Bulengo is one of the sites where displaced persons have found refuge around Goma. According to humanitarian coordinator for Oxfam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Tariq Riebl, the residents of the camp are a mix of people from different areas affected by various factions involved in the conflict. “The needs are intense because all of them have fled conflict, and all of them have suffered from the trauma of having to move, often several times,” he says.

Ms. Bushu collects her relief kit. The relief kits contain 10 essential items, including plastic sheeting, blankets, sleeping mats, clothing, a wash basin, a jerry can, a kitchen set and soap. “The tarp will help cover my tent,” she says. “I’ll be protected from the sun and I won’t have to hear all the noise outside. Cooking pans also mean I can cook by, and that’s really important.

The mass distribution of relief kits to assist families like Ms. Bushu’s is the largest operation to be carried out in North Kivu in recent years. UNICEF has coordinated the operation, which has involved 13 local and international NGOs, as well as other United Nations agencies, including AIDES, AVSI, Care, Caritas Goma, Concern Worldwide, Handicap International, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam Great Britain, Première Urgence, Save the Children, Solidarités International, OCHA, UNHCR and UNOPS. The distribution has been made possible with support from donors including the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) and the Governments of Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Sweden.

On the ground, more than 210 staff have been steadily working to ensure that the families receive their kits before the Christmas holiday.

“People arrived in Bulengo two to three weeks ago,” says UNICEF Emergency Officer in Goma Ulrich Wagner. “Insecurity delayed the distribution. Now, we aim to be as quick as possible to get these kits to the families, as long as the security allows it.”

A calm has prevailed over the Christmas period, which allowed UNICEF and its partners to intervene swiftly, undertaking a census and registration of families in preparation for the distributions. All told, over 1,000 tonnes of supplies have simultaneously been distributed in multiple sites to more than 20,000 displaced families over the course of four days.