The Secretary Generals of the 5 largest humanitarian organizations in Norway recently visited The Democratic Republic of Congo to raise awareness of the detriorating humanitarian situation.

- The situation is becoming critical, with hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people, says Trygve G. Nordby, secretary general of the Norwegian Red Cross, who just returned from the conflict areas in the eastern part of the country.

Last months' fighting between government military and opposition forces have threatened DRCs fragile peace.

- Unfortunately the civilians are again the ones who suffer the most, says Nordby.

Recently he visited the North Kivu province and the neighbouring country Burundi.

- Over four million people are dead and 5 million have been displaced since 1997. This year alone, the conflict has forced 400 000 people to flee their homes, Nordby says.

- This is one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world today, he adds.

The fights between government military and opposition forces in North Kivu are getting worse by the day, with victims on both sides of the frontline.

- With painful steps the people of DRC have approached a peace process the last few years. The recent fightings have been a huge blow to a population fed up with war, says Nordby.

Every day the conflict forces thousands of people to flee their homes, either across the border to a neighbouring country or inside DRC.

- With reports of further fighting in North Kivu, additional thousands will have to flee the areas. The displaced people face a long and uncertain future in the displacement camps, says a worried Nordby.

- In DRC today, hundreds of thousands of people find themselves in a desperate situation. This crisis has such a grave humanitarian concern, that demands the whole world's attention, he concludes.