EU Envoy Urges Creation of Humanitarian Corridor as Violence Rages in Eastern DR Congo

EU envoy Johan Borgström has urged armed groups in eastern DRC to allow humanitarian corridors amid intensifying conflict (image source)

KINSHASA — The European Union’s special representative to the Great Lakes region has called on all armed actors in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to allow the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors to reach civilians trapped by escalating fighting, warning that continued obstruction of aid operations risks a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.

Johan Borgström appealed for safe, sustained access for relief convoys and humanitarian personnel after reports of intensified clashes between government forces and multiple armed groups across North Kivu and Ituri provinces. He stressed that parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian law and facilitate unobstructed delivery of food, medicine and emergency shelter to thousands of displaced people sheltering in makeshift camps and host communities.

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“Humanitarian needs are mounting by the day,” Borgström said in a statement distributed to the press on Tuesday, urging combatants to put civilians’ protection above military goals and to permit neutral agencies to operate without interference. He described the current patterns of roadblocks, insecurity and targeted attacks on logistics routes as “obstacles that turn suffering into disaster,” and called on regional leaders to use their influence to press armed groups to cooperate with relief efforts.

Humanitarian organisations have reported a sharp rise in internal displacement in recent weeks as fighting forces families to flee frontier towns and remote villages. Health facilities in affected districts are stretched to breaking point, with shortages of surgical supplies, essential drugs and safe blood supplies complicating care for the wounded and the sick. Humanitarian coordinators warn that limited access is preventing life-saving assistance from reaching the most vulnerable, including children under five, pregnant women and the elderly.

Borgström said the EU stands ready to support coordinated relief operations and to work with UN agencies, international NGOs and local partners to establish secure corridors and temporary logistical hubs. He urged the Congolese authorities to prioritise protection measures and ensure security guarantees for humanitarian staff operating in volatile zones. The envoy also called on neighbouring states and regional mechanisms to help de-escalate tensions and to back political efforts aimed at durable solutions, including dialogue and confidence-building measures.

“Security is not an end in itself; it must create the conditions for aid delivery, civilian protection and a credible political process,” he said.

International donors and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that protracted, fragmented violence in eastern DRC compounds chronic vulnerabilities — malnutrition, endemic disease and fragile infrastructure — and heightens the risk of wider regional spill-over. Aid workers cited growing concerns about access to clean water, sanitation and shelter as rains begin in parts of the region, a seasonal factor that could multiply health risks in displacement sites.

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Borgström urged immediate, practical steps: agreed daily humanitarian pauses, marked convoy corridors, safe-passage assurances for ambulances and the rapid restoration of key supply routes. He also called for transparent incident reporting and independent monitoring to build confidence among relief actors and affected communities. As diplomatic efforts intensify, humanitarian leaders said their ability to scale life-saving assistance will hinge on concrete commitments from armed actors to allow neutral, sustained access — a measure they described as the sine qua non for averting a full-blown humanitarian emergency in eastern DRC.