More than 600 people were killed by armed groups in the past three months in the restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN assistant secretary-general for Africa said on Monday.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Martha Pobee said the killings were attributable to the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militia group, Zaire militia, and Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group as the main perpetrators of the atrocities.
She said the security situation in eastern DR Congo has continued to deteriorate over the same period, despite a lull in armed clashes between the M23 rebel group and government forces in North Kivu province.
"The relative security gains in North Kivu are unfortunately fragile and overshadowed by the deteriorating situation in neighboring Ituri province," she said.
"Ituri has suffered from the security vacuum created by the government forces' redeployment to North Kivu. Over 600 people were killed by armed groups in the past three months."
Reiterating the UN's call to all armed groups to cease hostilities, Pobee called for a redeployment of government security forces, particularly in Ituri, to restore state authority in the area.
"The population, especially the most vulnerable, cannot remain without the protection of the Congolese state. The consequences of this absence are deeply worrying," she said.
Pobee also said the ADF has extended its area of influence to an unprecedented level and remains a serious threat to the security and stability of the DR Congo despite the joint operations of Ugandan and Congolese armies against the group.
Eastern Congo remains volatile, with 5.7 million people internally displaced amid food insecurity, according to the UN.
