UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is "deeply concerned" by the M23 rebel group advancing towards South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

"We are deeply concerned by the situation in South Kivu particularly, which remains very volatile, with credible reports that the M23 is moving rapidly towards the city of Bukavu," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a daily briefing. Bukavu is the capital of South Kivu province.

"Our colleagues in the peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) say there are reports of Rwanda defense force cross-border movements in that direction," he said.

MONUSCO withdrew last year from South Kivu under a revised Security Council mandate at the request of the DRC government.

Dujarric said clashes are reported between the rebel M23 and the Congolese armed forces as well as allied forces south of Minova, in South Kivu.

"Our colleagues are also concerned about humanitarian and security risks, particularly interethnic conflict, in the absence of UN peacekeeping forces in that area," he said.

The M23 took control of a significant part of Goma earlier this week, including the airport, which Dujarric said remains non-operational.

The spokesman said the situation in Goma remains tense and volatile, with occasional shootings continuing within the city.

"Water and electricity have been off for almost a week and unexploded ordnance remains a serious obstacle to freedom of movement, of people, of humanitarians and peacekeepers," Dujarric said. "The mission was able to take a few reconnaissance patrols yesterday (Wednesday) within the city to begin the process of assessing damage, and a number of peacekeeping positions were able to be resupplied."

He said the peacekeeping mission operates in a highly challenging environment and is being tested.

"Our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) say that our partners are beginning to move around Goma to assess the damage to their warehouses in the wake of looting," Dujarric said. "Aid organizations plan to resume provision of humanitarian aid tomorrow (Friday) with the capacity and stocks available -- obviously if the security situation permits this."

He said the Congolese Red Cross, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross, continues to remove numerous corpses throughout Goma to mitigate public health issues.

"Our colleagues at the World Health Organization (WHO) say that hospitals in Goma are not surprisingly saturated with the influx of wounded people," Dujarric said. "WHO says the risk of spread of Mpox, cholera and measles has increased due to people leaving healthcare facilities where they had been receiving treatment for those diseases."

Humanitarians also reported that the water supply disruption in Goma over the last six days is compounding the risk of the spread of cholera and other water-borne diseases.

On the political front, the spokesman said the leadership of the UN mission in the DRC is multiplying its engagements, pushing towards a cessation of hostilities.

Bintou Keita, the special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of the peacekeeping mission, met with DRC prime minister, key ministers and the leadership of the Congolese army and police, and agreed to establish a joint government-MONUSCO working group to work on all relevant issues closely. Enditem

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