Congo's Goma airport to reopen, over $1.7bn in aid pledged: Macron

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said the airport in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will reopen to humanitarian flights...

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said the airport in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will reopen to humanitarian flights, months after it was closed when the city was seized by the M23 armed group.

The key airport would open "in the coming weeks" along with secure corridors for aid delivery, Macron said at a conference in Paris, where he also announced more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) pledged in international aid for Africa's Great Lakes region, plagued by a humanitarian crisis.

"I am proud to announce that you have collectively mobilised over 1.5 billion euros in assistance for the most vulnerable populations," he said at the closing of the international conference co-organised with Togo, adding that the aid includes medicines and food.

Millions of people are facing hunger in the DRC, which has been hit hard by a sharp drop in foreign aid, the United Nations warned on Thursday, as the United States and other wealthy nations dramatically scale back international assistance.

"We cannot remain silent spectators of the tragedy unfolding in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo," Macron said.