GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP)— More than 400,000 people have already been displaced this year due to intensifying violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said Friday.

The Rwandan-backed M23 are battling the Congolese armed forces and have tightened their grip surrounding Goma, the capital of DR Congo’s North Kivu province.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was gravely concerned about the safety and security of civilians and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the eastern DR Congo.

“The displacement figures have now surged to more than 400,000 people this year alone, which is almost double the number that was reported just last week,” spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told a media briefing in Geneva.

UNHCR “urges all parties to prioritise the protection of civilians, respect the civilian nature of IDP sites and refrain from using explosives and heavy weapons in overcrowded civilian environments”, he said.

“It is vital, and long overdue, for peace to take root in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the benefit of its people and the region.”

Saltmarsh said the options for those fleeing their homes were “stark and they are extremely limited”.

He said the situation in the DRC was “very much a forgotten crisis”, with UNHCR’s country appeal currently only 10 per cent funded by donors.