Over 500,000 displaced by 2 weeks of fighting in DR Congo's South Kivu: UNICEF

Over 500,000 people, including more than 100,000 children, have been displaced since Dec. 1 due to intense fighting in South Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Sunday.

In a statement, UNICEF said it is "deeply alarmed" by the rapid escalation of hostilities in South Kivu, which has forced hundreds of thousands of children and families to flee for safety, both within the DRC and across borders into the neighboring Burundi and Rwanda.