SPOT LIGHT Internally displaced families in Mweso, North Kivu province. Photo: NRC/Ephrem Chiruza, September 2016 14 GRID 2017 Democratic Republic of the congo An overlooked displacement crisis tops the global figures Political insecurity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) aggravated long-standing ethnic tensions and clashes between armed groups in 2016, particularly in the provinces of North and South Kivu in the east of the country. There were more than 920,000 new displacements over the course of the year, the highest number associated with conflict recorded globally. Ninety-three per cent of IDPs cited violence as the main driver of their displacement.13 People in North Kivu, who have already endured years of war and disasters, have been left with acute needs. Raids and inter-ethnic and communal clashes between armed groups in Walikale and Lubero territories forced nearly 373,000 people to flee their homes, making up 42 per cent of the province’s displaced population as of the end of 2016. Some IDPs have been persuaded to return to their home villages, but many in Lubero remain displaced because of continued insecurity.15 Of the 2.2 million IDPs currently in DRC, 837,000 are in North Kivu and 378,000 in South Kivu.14 Together they account for 55 per cent of the country’s displaced population. The humanitarian situation is increasingly dire, but little seems to have been done to stem the violence, respect IDPs’ human rights or address their protection needs. The provincial government’s call for North Kivu’s displacement camps to be closed has complicated humanitarian efforts even further. Five camps were closed in 2016. The authorities justified the move by claiming that the camps harbour anti-government militias and foster violence among IDPs. It has also claimed that several areas of the province have stabilised and that IDPs can return to their homes.