UN warns worst may be yet to come if DRC violence spreads

Eastern DRC residents flee as the M23 rebel group seizes further territory in the east of the country. [Jospin Mwisha.AFP]

The United Nations warned Friday that the worst may be yet to come if the violence engulfing the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo spreads throughout the wider region.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said civilians in eastern DRC were suffering and insisted there could be no military solution to the conflict.

Turk was addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will decide Friday whether to launch an international investigation into alleged violations and abuses committed amid the deadly clashes.

The DRC requested an urgent meeting of the UN's top rights body to discuss the escalating fighting by Rwanda-backed armed group, the M23, in North and South Kivu provinces and drew up a draft resolution that would set up the probe.

Last week, M23 fighters and Rwandan troops seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu -- a mineral-rich region in eastern DRC that has been blighted by war for over three decades.

"The population in the eastern DRC is suffering terribly, while many of the products we consume or use, such as mobile phones, are created using minerals from the east of the country. We are all implicated," Turk said, opening the council special session.

"If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC, but also beyond the country’s borders.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said more than 500,000 people had been displaced since the beginning of January.

"The military path is not the answer to the political, social, and economic challenges which are at the root of this conflict, including the illegal exploitation of natural resources," said Turk.

He called for M23 and the Rwandan forces to facilitate access to humanitarian aid.

"The risk of violence escalating throughout the sub-region has never been higher."