Brussels – The European Commission announced on Wednesday an additional five million euros (5.66 million dollars) in humanitarian aid to the crisis caused by the conflict in the Congolese province of Kasai.
Eight provinces and 2.6 million people are affected by the conflict in Kasai province according to the EU, following clashes between Congolese security forces and a militia that wants the state’s presence removed.
“The EU is extremely concerned by the current humanitarian crisis in Kasai, causing horrible suffering to so many people,” Christos Stylianides, the commissioner for humanitarian aid, said in a statement.
No fewer than 3,000 people have been killed, nearly 1.3 million displaced and about 30,000 have fled to neighbouring Angola, according to the Catholic Church and the UN.
In May, the EU added several Congolese officials to a sanctions list for “having contributed to acts constituting serious human rights violations in the DRC, by planning, directing or committing them.”
In addition to its own refugees, Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world is also hosting more than 460,00 foreign refugees due to an ongoing influx of people fleeing the conflict in South Sudan.
Since the beginning of the year the EU has released close to 28 million euros (31.7 million dollars) of humanitarian aid to Congo.(NAN)
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