The European Commission has reacted swiftly to the explosion that ocurred in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo's capital, and which took the lives of close to 200 people and injured more than 1,500. It joins the operations to bring first aid to the victims and in order to strengthen the response to the emergency, the Commission will release €200,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).

Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response visited Brazzaville, Republic of Congo's capital, a day after of the first and most destructive ammunition stockpile explosions which took the lives of close to 200 people and injured more than 1,500. She announced Commission's contribution to support the provision of emergency healthcare and shelter and the clearing up of the explosion-devastated area. The Commission's humanitarian experts keep monitoring the needs on the ground and coordinating with relief partners working in Brazzaville.

The Commission also confirmed that the Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre has been in close contact with the Commission's humanitarian experts in Kinshasa and the EU Delegation in Brazzaville to collect information and identify the most urgent needs. The Commission can coordinate and co-finance the provision of assistance coming from EU Member States and offer expertise in the field of civil protection to the Republic of Congo if the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is activated by the national authorities.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates cooperation in disaster response among 32 European states. The latest country that joined it was former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The European Commission manages the Mechanism through the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC). Since its creation in 2001, it has been activated for disasters in Member States, but is also active worldwide, including after the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Japan.