GENEVA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, expressed "alarm" Friday at the latest escalation of violence in already volatile and Ebola-hit North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
"The cumulative effect of conflict and the outbreak of the deadly disease is threatening millions of Congolese," said UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic at a UN briefing for journalists.
The fighting involves a number of armed groups operating in the area and has intensified in all six territories in North Kivu, a province bordering Rwanda and Uganda in the central African country.
UNHCR said thousands of civilians have fled their burned-out villages, bringing reports of brutal attacks.
"The already dire humanitarian situation has been further aggravated by an outbreak of Ebola virus in parts of the province. The disease has killed more than 60 people and infected dozens more in recent weeks," said Mahecic.
The UN agency said it estimates that more than a million people are displaced in North Kivu. This is the highest concentration of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the DRC.
It is particularly worried about the deteriorating situation in the Ebola-hit northern territory of Beni. The area is home to some 1.3 million people.
"Spiralling conflict has left the population living there virtually in a state of siege since October 2017," said Mahecic.
The UN has reports of increased human rights violations and says restrictions of humanitarian access are frequent.
Estimates are that more than 100 armed groups are active in the province, continually terrorizing the population.
Despite a large-scale military offensive of the Congolese Army against one of the main rebel groups, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) since January, there has been no let-up in the violence, said UNHCR.
