Syria, Israel, DRC - Press Conference | United Nations

Press conference by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, on the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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The Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said, the fall of the Assad government in Syria and the “entry, presence and activities” of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in the area of separation, “has made it particularly challenging” for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and the Observer Group Golan (OGG).

Briefing journalists in New York upon visiting Syria and Israel, Lacroix said, “I obviously reiterated our concern about the presence of the IDF in the area of separation. It's clearly a violation of the 1974 agreement between Israel and Syria. I also indicated that UNDOF had received a number of complaints from the local inhabitants of particularly in the centre of the area of operations. And we, expressed the importance of addressing these concerns.”

He said he had conveyed a message to both the Israeli government and Syria’s caretaker government, “to fully facilitate UNDOF’s mandated activities, including inspections in the respective, areas of limitation that are adjacent to the area of separation, ensure freedom of movement to UN personnel.”

Turning to the DRC, Lacroix said, “the situation remains tense and volatile, with occasional shooting continuing within the city.”

He said the UN Mission in the country’s (MONUSCO’s) positions “were again resupplied, which is critically important because in those positions, we do not only have MONUSCO personnel, but we have also, significant number of people basically, who have been seeking shelter in those bases.”

The airport’s runways, the peacekeeping Chief noted, “is currently not operable” as it has “sustained significant damages in the recent fighting, and we cannot use it for now.”

Lacroix underlined that “MONUSCO bases are under stress, but also in some cases, they have been under threat in terms of, you know, the presence of, disarmed FRDC soldiers. And I want to really again call for the respect, the full respect, of the inviolability of our UN premises.”

He said, “we are concerned not only as far as the eastern DRC is concerned, but this has if you look at the past, some of this has the potential of triggering a wider regional conflict and therefore it is of the utmost important that all diplomatic efforts should be geared to avoiding this and bringing about this decision of hostilities.”

Lacroix said, the rebel group M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militias “are about 60km, north of, Bukavu; seem to be moving quite fast. There is an airport, in the vicinity of where they are, I think, a few kilometres south, which is Kavumu.”

He noted that Secretary-General António Guterres has spoken to Rwandan President Paul Kagame as well as Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi emphasising the importance of the protection of civilians and the safety and security of UN personnel.

He said, I think, “the protection of respect to the safety and security of UN personnel, is an international obligation for all member states. And that applies to Rwanda, that applies to all.”

Humanitarian organizations in Goma continue to assess the impact of the crisis, including the widespread looting of warehouses and the offices of aid organizations.

The World Health Organization and partners conducted an assessment with the Government between 26 to 29 January and reported that 700 people have been killed and 2,800 people injured and that are receiving treatment in health facilities. These numbers are expected to rise as more information becomes available.

In Goma itself, access to safe drinking water remains cut off, forcing people to rely on untreated water from Lake Kivu. Without urgent action, OCHA cautions that the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks will just continue to increase.

For its part, the International Organization for Migration says today that several displacement sites, including on the outskirts of Goma - where over 300,000 have been displaced have been partially or completely emptied.