PRETORIA, January 31. /TASS/. Warehouses of the World Food Program (WFP), an international organization within the United Nations, in the city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been looted after rebels from the March 23 (M23) movement entered the city on January 26, WFP Deputy Director Cynthia Jones said.
"We have seen widespread looting, including food stores in Goma," she told a news conference broadcast by the local EWN radio station. "Several of our warehouses have been looted."
According to Jones, nearly 800,000 people in Goma are in need for food and the WFP resumes its operation in the east of the DRC, which was suspended after the M23 units attacked the city. She called on all parties to the conflict to guarantee safe delivery of humanitarian assistance to all those who need it.
"I can't stress enough how important it is that all parties to the conflict cease hostilities and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, including for the protection and safety of humanitarian workers. Safe humanitarian corridors must be opened to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, including emergency food assistance and the free movement of civilians fleeing the fighting," she stressed.
M23 units sized Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province with a population of about two million. Now, they are in complete control of the city, with sporadic shootouts occurring inly in its northernmost neighborhoods. On Thursday, the rebels announced the establishment of a Goma governing committee. Electricity and water supplies were resumed to houses in the city’s southern neighborhoods on January 30.
Around 600,000 displaced people from other DRC provinces are housed at camps near Goma, which is the largest logistics hub in the east of the DRC used for delivering international humanitarian assistance. Practically all UN employees left Goma two days ago.