The hostilities raging in the eastern part of LDC Congo have forced more than half a million people to flee their homes since the beginning of the month, the African country’s foreign minister said yesterday (Tuesday).

“The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate with more than 500,000 new internally displaced people in the provinces of North and South Kivu in January alone,” Teresa Kayikwaba Wagner said, speaking during a UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the ongoing crisis.