Kinshasa, July 3rd, 2021 (CPA).- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officially leaves the Kasai region on June 30th, 2021, four years after launching activities to assist communities victims of violence that had erupted in this part of the country, indicates the ICRC in a statement received Tuesday at the CPA.
According to the press release, the ICRC notes an improvement in the humanitarian situation and will withdraw to focus on the areas most affected by armed conflicts, in particular in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.
« It is now important for organizations specializing in development issues to be able to look into the Kasai area, » said the head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Kananga, Grégory Brissonneau.
Since July 2017, it should be remembered, the ICRC in collaboration with the DRC Red Cross has worked in particular to meet the needs of populations affected by the said conflict by focusing on the most vulnerable, displaced populations or returnees. He organized distributions of food, household items and agricultural inputs on their behalf.
One of the ICRC’s main missions during these 4 years has also been to reunite children separated from their families by the conflict.
According to the same statement, the ICRC also assisted people deprived of their liberty in Tshikapa and Kananga prisons and provided emergency aid to Congolese expelled from Angola.
In its mission to protect the civilian population, the ICRC has, among other things, tried to prevent sexual violence.
“The ICRC will continue to closely monitor the humanitarian situation in this region through the DRC Red Cross, which it supports as part of the partnership between them within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. », Concluded the press release. ACP/NIG