CAFOD statement on fighting in DR Congo

IDP camp in Goma © MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti

Source: CAFOD

Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen new areas taken by M23 rebels, encircling Goma and taking control of parts of the city, cutting it off from the outside.

Huge flows of people have arrived in Goma in recent days. Women and children fleeing ahead of the conflict have arrived in the city, exhausted from their journey, to find water and electricity cut off and food prices rising. Feeder routes into Goma are now blocked by heavy fighting, leaving people trapped.

"I could hear shooting in the background on the phone," said a CAFOD spokesperson, after calling staff in Goma.

Bernard Balibuno, CAFOD's Country Representative for DRC, said: "The situation in Goma is very serious. Our staff and partners are responding with what they have, and we will be scaling up our response as soon as possible.

"The humanitarian needs in Goma now are vast. The city has been forced into shutdown by the fighting and hundreds of thousands of people are displaced. Many have been reduced to begging on the streets."

Conflicts between the Congolese government and rebel groups have lasted for decades, and there are fears that the conflict could now escalate across the region.

DRC is a forgotten crisis.

While the eyes of the west have been focused on Ukraine and Gaza, millions of lives have been lost in the DRC to hunger, disease and violence.

CAFOD's concern is for the hundreds of thousands of people in urgent need of help and displaced from their homes - some in recent days, many for much longer, some more than once - as they are forced to repeatedly flee the violence.

We urge all parties to ensure that the supply of humanitarian aid in Goma can continue.

LINK

CAFOD: https://cafod.org.uk/