Question
Q3. Consider the following pairs:
| Regions often mentioned in news | Reason for being in news |
| 1. North Kivu and Ituri | War between Armenia and Azerbaijan |
| 2. Nagorno-Karabakh | Insurgency in Mozambique |
| 3. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia | Dispute between Israel and Lebanon |
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
Answer: 4
Detailed Explanation
- As of October 30, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has witnessed a surge in internal displacement, affecting 6.9 million individuals.
- The conflict with the rebel group Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) has led to the displacement of nearly one million people in the eastern province of North Kivu
Current Situation
- Over 120 insurgent groups operate in North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika, causing violence over territory and resources.
- The M23 rebel group, resurfacing in November 2021, intensified conflict by seizing towns, leading to a failed ceasefire in November 2022
Humanitarian Challenges
- According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the crisis has left more than 1.1 million people in need of food support across North Kivu, Ituri, and South Kivu.
- And finally, the feeble international response. International actors have failed to make a considerable effort to address the crisis.
- According to organizations such as WFP and the Norwegian Refugee Council, lack of funding is a major challenge in assisting Congolese people facing hunger, starvation and humanitarian crises.
What is Nagorno Karabakh?
- Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked, mountainous and forested region with a population of around 150,000, falling within the boundaries of Azerbaijan.
- Nagorno-Karabakh, called Artsakh in Armenian.
- It hosts a predominantly ethnic Armenian population with an Azeri minority.
- Nagorno-Karabakh has been part of Azerbaijan territory since the Soviet era.
- When the Soviet Union began to collapse in the late 1980s.
- Armenia’s regional parliament voted for the region’s transfer to Armenia.
