"KIBATI, Democratic Republic of Congo - Under the denuded slopes of Mount Nyiragongo volcano in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, traders in Kibati town bartered over sacks of charcoal, a product of deforestation that an ongoing conflict has pushed to unprecedented levels, the United Nations says.

Motorbikes piled with freshly sawn planks zipped down the main road in Kibati, a community that has remained under Congolese army control even as a two-year insurgency by the M23 militia advanced in conflict-torn North Kivu province, displacing more than 1.7 million people.

"In the camp, we're dying of hunger. We've decided to make charcoal so we can feed our children," said displaced vendor Jacques Muzayi at Kibati.

The insecurity has worsened the pressure on the region's once densely forested hillsides and its protected Virunga national park, home to many of the world's last mountain gorillas.

"There used to be a forest here," said Bantu Lukambo, head of a local environmental organisation."

Djaffar Al Katanty and Sonia Rolley report for Reuters July 17, 2024. [2]