KINSHASA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- About 90 internally displaced persons (IDP) sites in the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were destroyed amid rebel hostilities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
A total of 248,676 people have been affected by the destruction of 90 IDP sites amid hostilities around Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, which the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels claimed to have captured on Jan. 27, the WHO said in its latest situation report.
The WHO noted that the security situation remains "extremely volatile" in Goma, a crucial logistical hub for the entire region in distributing humanitarian aid, as the rebels' entry into the city has significantly worsened the humanitarian situation.
At a press briefing late Tuesday, Patrick Muyaya, Congolese government spokesperson, said more than 5,000 bodies had been buried in Goma, 1,568 deaths had been recorded in healthcare facilities, and 4,645 injured people had received medical care.
The WHO also warned that the city is facing health risks, including a resurgence of cholera cases, while several mpox treatment centers in camps for internally displaced people have been dismantled amid the hostilities.
Of the 128 mpox patients who fled Goma's treatment centers during the armed clashes, only 33 have been found, according to the WHO.
A humanitarian corridor was opened in the Goma region last Saturday. DRC Minister of Health Samuel Roger Kamba said the WHO has been authorized to deliver humanitarian supplies to Goma via Kenya and Rwanda.
The situation in the eastern DRC is deteriorating rapidly, with severe human rights violations and abuses, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned on Tuesday, calling for an immediate end to the violence.
