Latest news with #Byun
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Migrant bodies found in boat washed ashore on Caribbean island
The bodies of 11 people believed to have been migrants have been found inside a boat washed onto the shores of the Caribbean island of Canouan, which forms part of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The identities of those on board remain unclear, a police official said, but several passports found at the scene suggest they were from Mali, a land-locked country in western Africa more than 6,000km (3,800 miles) away. The boat, measuring 45ft (14m) in length, 12ft in width and 6ft in depth, was found grounded in Little Bay, on Monday. The discovery comes just months after a boat with 13 dead bodies - some of whom also had Malian documents - was found washed ashore in St Kitts and Nevis. Authorities in St Vincent and the Grenadines said they were alerted to the boat with the 11 deceased migrants on Monday. Eujin Byun, the UN Refugee Agency's global spokesperson, told the BBC the migrants - believed to be from Mali - had probably planned to go to the Canary Islands. Given the small size of the boat recovered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ms Byun said it was "highly unlikely" those on board would have been attempting to reach the Caribbean. She added: "We cannot talk on behalf of those who have passed away, but our best guess is that they wanted to take the Atlantic route to get to the Canary Islands" Hundreds of thousands of people have been internally displaced inside Mali, whose central and northern regions have known little stability since independence from France in September 1960, and many others have fled abroad. Around 6.4 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the European Commission, and more than 1.5 million people require emergency food assistance. Ms Buyn explained that Mali had experienced "a cycle of violence" since 2012, when the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali triggered a military coup and Islamist groups that helped defeat the government captured several towns. Access to services in the west African country had been "severely restricted" and Malians were crossing the border in search for better livelihoods, she added. But when refugees cross the border to neighbouring countries in the Sahel region, they are often confronted with a similar landscape, Ms Byun said, which leads them to seek refuge further afield. "Desperate people make desperate decisions," she concluded. The UN official worries that the Atlantic route from Africa to Europe is not getting as much attention as the Mediterranean route, and "smugglers are taking advantage of this". The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined
LBCI
14-02-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Congo fighting leaves 350,000 with no shelter: UN agency
The U.N. refugee agency voiced concern at the "rapidly deteriorating" situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, saying the war had left around 350,000 displaced people with no roof over their heads. Rwandan-backed M23 rebels seized eastern Congo's largest city of Goma last month and have been inching south in an advance that a local official has said may trigger a broader catastrophe in an area already housing thousands of displaced people. UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun told journalists in Geneva by video link that around 350,000 internally displaced people had no shelter as 70,000 emergency shelters had been destroyed around Goma and Minova. Unexploded munitions had also made it unsafe for them to go home. About 70% of Goma's camps are destroyed, and others in Minova are damaged, according to UNHCR. "Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in makeshift accommodation, including churches and hospitals," Byun added. Reuters
Zawya
14-02-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Democratic Republic of the Congo displacement, health crisis worsens amid dwindling aid access
A dire displacement crisis is escalating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as M23 rebels make headway while aid routes are cut off, UN humanitarians warned on Friday. 'The crisis is worsening as people flee to areas where humanitarian aid cannot reach due to insecurity,' UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Eujin Byun told reporters in Geneva. The development comes a day after the top UN aid official in the country Bruno Lemarquis warned that a shortage of humanitarian routes was threatening the aid operation in the region. Advance on Bukavu The rebels, who seized North Kivu province's capital Goma late last month, are advancing towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, following a short-lived lull in fighting. Ms. Byun said that in South Kivu, more than half of the aid groups providing critical support to survivors of sexual violence 'report being unable to reach those in need due to insecurity and continuous displacement'. Meanwhile, in North Kivu, 'the destruction of health facilities, including mortuaries, and overcrowded hospitals increase the risk of spreading infectious diseases, including cholera, malaria, and measles,' she said. The UNHCR spokesperson also highlighted the fact that 'heavy artillery shelling and looting' have destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova in North and South Kivu provinces, leaving some 350,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) 'once again without a roof over their heads'. While some 100,000 displaced people have attempted to return to their home areas – where they are met with damage to their homes and a lack of essential services – many remain stranded, Ms. Byun said. Deadly remnants Unexploded ordnance left over from the fighting is another obstacle to their safe return. Ms. Byun warned of the possibility that those people 'will be displaced once again'. The UNHCR spokesperson stressed that most of the 28 IDP sites around Goma are now destroyed. The agency's concern in terms of aid access is that the road from Goma to Bukavu has been cut off, she said. Ms. Byun also recalled that the airport in Goma is 'still not functioning for humanitarian aid'. 'Since violence has spread to South Kivu, this supply line is our biggest concern,' she added. With the rebels pushing towards Bukavu, the UN's Mr. Lemarquis expressed worry on Thursday about the fate of South Kivu's main airport some 20 miles from the province's capital, which until recently was the 'main lifeline' for bringing in humanitarian personnel. Mpox spread Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Christian Lindmeier, highlighted the 'heavy' impact of the hostilities on the mpox response, 'particularly in Goma and the adjacent area' as the fighting spread southwards. He stressed that the DRC is 'the worst-affected country for mpox', with Kivu being the epicentre of the highly infectious clade 1b outbreak. Due to the rapid spread of the clade 1b strain, in August last year WHO moved to declare mpox once again a 'public health emergency of international concern', for the second time after a global outbreak of the virus made headlines in 2022. Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that before the latest violence in eastern DRC, mpox cases had been stabilizing. But the recent fighting has forced patients to flee treatment centres, increasing transmission risks. 'Out of 143 confirmed mpox patients in isolation units in Goma and around, 128 fled in fear for their lives,' Mr. Lindmeier said, stressing that only 15 patients remain in isolation. 'That's of course dangerous for everybody around,' he insisted. Mr. Lindmeier added that some health facilities in the area had been looted, health workers had fled, and people were unable to access healthcare because of the security situation. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mpox patients fleeing Goma hospitals in DRC violence
Dozens of mpox patients being treated in hospital isolation units in Goma have fled for their lives as violence engulfs the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the WHO said Friday. Meanwhile the UN refugee agency warned that hundreds of thousands of civilians were fleeing to areas beyond the reach of humanitarian aid, after shelters for displaced people were destroyed. The M23 armed group, supported by Rwandan forces, has made advances in the province of South Kivu since Wednesday, after a few days of respite following a rapid offensive that saw its fighters claim the city of Goma in North Kivu province at the end of January. The World Health Organization said there had been 1,348 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases in DRC this year until February 2, with no deaths. "DRC in general is the worst-affected country for mpox," spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters. He pointed out that Kivu was the epicentre of an outbreak of the deadly clade 1b variant of mpox, which has been recorded in countries around the world in recent months. It first emerged in South Kivu in 2023. Lindmeier said the mpox response was being heavily impacted by the fighting between the M23 and Congolese army, especially in and around Goma. Some health facilities have been forced to close while others have been looted. "Out of 143 confirmed mpox case patients in isolation units in Goma and around, 128 fled in fear for their lives," he said. "Only 15 mpox patients -- about 10 percent -- remained in isolation," he said, stressing: "that's of course, dangerous for everybody". Mpox can be passed between humans through close physical contact. It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly. Its spread caused the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern -- its highest alarm -- in August 2024, which remains in place. - Shelters destroyed - Meanwhile the UNHCR refugee agency warned the lack of access to displaced people was hampering relief efforts. "The crisis is worsening as people flee to areas where humanitarian aid cannot reach them due to insecurity," spokeswoman Eujin Byun said. She said heavy artillery shelling and looting had destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova, leaving some 350,000 IDPs once again without shelter. A full 70 percent of the 28 IDP sites around Goma had been "destroyed", she said. Byun said hundreds of thousands of displaced people were now in overcrowded makeshift shelters, churches, schools and hospitals. "We urge all parties to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access," said Byun. rjm/nl/nro
MTV Lebanon
14-02-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
UN refugee agency says Congo fighting leaves 350,000 with no shelter
The U.N. refugee agency voiced concern at the "rapidly deteriorating" situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, saying the war had left around 350,000 displaced people with no roof over their heads. Rwandan-backed M23 rebels seized eastern Congo's largest city of Goma last month and have been inching south in an advance that a local official has said may trigger a broader catastrophe in an area already housing thousands of displaced people. UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun told journalists in Geneva by video link that around 350,000 internally displaced people had no shelter as their temporary camps had been destroyed or unexploded munitions made it unsafe for them to go home. About 70% of Goma's camps are destroyed, and others in Minova are damaged, according to UNHCR. "Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in makeshift accommodation, including churches and hospitals," Byun added. The agency also reported an increase in crime and said the danger of disease was growing as it and other agencies struggle to provide aid amid the fighting. More than 80 civilians were killed in a late-night attack by the CODECO militia on a cluster of villages in eastern Congo this week, the U.N. peacekeeping mission MONUSCO said on Thursday. CODECO, one of many militias fighting over land and resources, has frequently attacked the displacement camps, which have mushroomed since M23 began its advance. Rwanda has been accused by Congo, the United Nations and Western countries of supporting M23 with its own troops and weapons, a charge Kigali denies. At least 3,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by the recent fighting.
