UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Deadly inter-communal violence in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) raises the concerns of UN humanitarians, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

"Our humanitarian colleagues there tell us that communal violence continues in the Mai-Ndombe and Kwilu provinces in the west of the country," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "At least 180 civilians have been killed since July 2022, according to authorities. The violence has displaced more than 48,000 people."

Dujarric said the authorities' recent closure of an internally displaced persons site sheltering more than 2,000 people raises the concerns of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarians Affairs (OCHA) and partners.

He said humanitarian organizations in Kwilu and Mai-Ndombe provide medical care and help reconnect separated families. Congolese authorities have provided food to the displaced.

Dujarric said humanitarian workers are scaling up their response and need 4.4 million U.S. dollars to help more than 55,000 people.

The spokesman said that OCHA opened an office two weeks ago in the town of Bandundu in Kwilu province to coordinate the response.

The provinces of Kwilu and Mai-Ndombe are adjacent to the Kinshasa Capital Region in the DRC's far west. Enditem

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