GENEVA, Switzerland, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The situation in Democratic Republic of Congo remains "volatile" and more displacements are expected this year, a U.N. aid official said from Geneva.
The United Nations estimates that at least 390,000 people in DRC were displaced internally and another 60,000 fled to neighboring Rwanda and Uganda since an April mutiny led by the March 23 rebel movement.
Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva the situation for those displaced by the DRC conflict was dire.
"The situation remains volatile and we expect further displacement this year," she said in a statement. "If the violence and abuse of civilians continues to rise in the eastern provinces, the number of new IDPs is expected to be even higher and may reach as many as 760,000 in the coming month."
Herve Ladsous, a deputy official from the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said last week that his office was considering a regional proposal to send in a neutral force to the border between the DRC and Rwanda to help control the violence.
Human Rights Watch had said M23 is likely responsibly for war crimes in DRC. Rwandan officials may be complicit as well given their alleged support for the movement, though the government there has denied the accusation.
