Today's top news: Libya, Democratic Republic of the Congo

A man in a UN blue vest listens to a group of women

An aid worker listens to displaced women in a camp located in Rhoe, 45km northeast of the Ituri capital, Bunia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. OCHA

Libya

This morning, we released an appeal for US $71.4 million, targeting 250,000 people for the next three months.

The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Libya, Georgette Gagnon, is leading the UN’s response efforts and we have established a coordination hub in Benghazi.

Assessments are ongoing, but OCHA estimates that more than 880,000 people, in five provinces, live in areas directly affected by the storm and flash floods.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said the scale of the flood disaster is shocking, with entire neighbourhoods having been wiped off the map and whole families, taken by surprise, swept away in the deluge of water.

Mr. Griffiths said that all hands are on deck to get as much help and support to people as we can, adding that the UN is on the ground and is deploying a robust team to support and resource the international response, in coordination with first responders and Libya's authorities.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Fifty civilians have been killed in Ituri province, in the east of the country, since the beginning of the month.

The attacks in the territories of Djugu, Irumu and Mahagi bring the total number of people killed in the province so far this year to 700.

Our humanitarian partners continue to step up aid in the province, including emergency food support. They reached more than 400,000 people in Ituri in August.

OCHA continues to negotiate humanitarian access with the provincial authorities.

Violence in Ituri has displaced more than 1.7 million people, with more than one-third of the province’s population uprooted in the last 18 months alone.