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Authorities in the United States welcomed a two-week humanitarian truce in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the White House said on Thursday, amid fierce fighting between government troops and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
The truce, beginning at midnight local time on Friday and to extend through July 19, covers areas where the conflict most affects civilian populations.
“The recent expansion of fighting in North Kivu has prevented humanitarian workers from reaching hundreds of thousands of IDPs in the area around Kanyabayonga and displaced more than 100,000 people from their homes,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
The fighting in North Kivu province has sent more than 1.7 million people fleeing their homes, driving up the number displaced in Congo by multiple conflicts to a record 7.2 million, according to United Nations estimates.
