Almost 3,000 people have been killed in fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN has said.
Vivian van de Perre, a senior UN official based in the city of Goma, said the “escalating violence” in the area has “led to immense human suffering, displacement, and a growing humanitarian crisis”.
Bodies are decomposing on the streets of Goma, with 2,000 more collected across the region.
Some 900 more bodies are in morgues, with Ms van de Perre saying her organisation “expects the number [of those killed] to go up”.
Hundreds of thousands more remain displaced, while thousands of criminals allegedly broke out from a Goma jail.
Ms van de Perre said there is huge pressure on water, food, shelter and sanitation and conditions are “really, really dire”.
The UN also fears possible disease outbreaks, and one lynching has been documented.
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“It is imperative that all parties cease hostilities and commit to political dialogue… and work towards a peaceful resolution to this crisis,” Ms van de Perre said.
Providing aid for displaced people has been made more difficult by US President Donald Trump’s move to shut down USAID, with the UN saying this is “hampering operations”.
The UN said that violence has continued to escalate despite the rebels M23 declaring a unilateral ceasefire on Monday.
The M23 rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, according to UN experts. They seized Goma in three days after fierce battles with Congolese forces.
The rebels gained ground in eastern DRC on Wednesday despite the ceasefire, taking control of a town 60 miles from the provincial capital of Bukavu.
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The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court called on Wednesday for the presentation of information and evidence regarding atrocities committed in eastern DRC.
“The office will continue to investigate alleged crimes committed by any person, irrespective of affiliation or nationality and will not be limited to particular individuals, parties or members of specific groups,” the statement said.
Goma, which remains under occupation, is home to two million people and is at the heart of a region home to trillions of dollars in mineral wealth.
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The M23 is the most potent of the more than 100 armed groups active in the area.
Experts and analysts have expressed concern that Rwanda aims to take control of parts of DRC to ensure access to minerals.
But Rwanda’s government has framed the conflict as the defence of ethnic Tutsis in eastern DRC from ethnic Hutu forces linked to the genocide in Rwanda three decades ago that killed some 800,000 Tutsis, moderate Hutus and others.
Rwandan forces have entered DRC in the past while asserting the same aim, helping to fuel what has become one of Africa’s longest-simmering wars, with millions of Congolese displaced.
