YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – As the situation gets worse in the DR Congo, the Director of Communication at Caritas Butembo-Beni has decried the desperation that has enveloped the people of eastern Congo following an upsurge in violence between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese Armed Forces.
M23 on Wednesday took control of the mining town of Nyabibwe, located some 60 miles from the capital of South Kivu, Bukavu. And this came after it had also taken control of Goma – the capital of North Kivu Province – a town of over two million inhabitants.
The conquest of Nyabibwe came despite a ceasefire unilaterally declared by M23, although the government of the DRC had described the ceasefire as “false communication.”
The WHO reports that at least 900 people have been killed in the eastern Congolese town of Goma as a result of the fighting. Around 2,880 others have been injured.
Elie Mbulegheti, Director of Caritas for Butembo-Beni, told Crux that the fighting has created a situation where people aren’t even free to flee.
“Since the M23 rebels resumed their attacks in 2021, North Kivu has remained under constant threat, particularly with the capture of Bunagana, a city on the border between Uganda and the DRC and close to the Rwandan border. In June 2023, the M23 rebels entered the diocese of Butembo-Beni, taking control of Kanyabayonga and several other villages,” Mbulegheti said.
“The clashes in Butembo-Beni have displaced many people who fled from Kanyabayonga and Kaina to central areas. In the south, particularly in the dioceses of Goma, the rebels have already infiltrated the city of Goma. The city of Goma has seen over 20 displacement incidents, affecting more than 200,000 households. These displaced individuals have sought refuge in Goma,” he said.
“The humanitarian crisis has worsened with the M23 rebels’ takeover of Goma. Some displaced people have started returning to their villages—not because peace has been restored, but because they have no other choice. Both their places of refuge and their homes are engulfed in conflict. As a result, many prefer to stay in their homes despite the ongoing war. The humanitarian crisis in Goma has become severe,” he told Crux.
Mbulegheti cited the UN as reporting that around 3,000 people have died so far, adding that hospitals, typically without adequate medical facilities, are overwhelmed by wounded people.
He said the war has resulted in thousands of orphaned children who now live in orphanages within the diocese, and “they struggle daily to access education, food, and proper living conditions. Their caregivers often rely on neighborhood and city residents to help feed and care for them.”
Bishops express Church’s closeness to victims
In a February 3 statement, members of the Episcopal Conference of the Congo, CENCO expressed their spiritual closeness with the people of eastern Congo so battered by conflict.
“It is with great sadness and deep concern that we follow the deterioration of the security situation in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, particularly worsened by the capture of the city of Goma by the AFC/M23 rebel coalition, supported by Rwanda, and their advance towards the city of Bukavu,” the statement reads.
They voiced “great sadness and much concern” at the violence in the statement signed by Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu of Lubumbashi, the president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO).
“The intensification of fighting between the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the AFC/M23 rebels, along with their respective allies, has caused enormous loss of human life,” the bishops said.
They complained that the fighting has led to looting in the city of Goma and surrounding towns and has exacerbated the mass displacement of populations already impoverished by the recurrent conflicts that these provinces have endured for nearly thirty years.
“The situation is so grave and the emotion so overwhelming that we felt compelled to take a moment of silence and reflection to better understand its dimensions and discern the future course of action.”
“We wish to express our fraternal closeness and solidarity with Bishop Willy Ngumbi of Goma Diocese, and Archbishop François Xavier Maroy, Metropolitan Archbishop of Bukavu, as well as with the entire People of God living in these afflicted regions,” the Church leaders said.
They extended condolences to those who have lost loved ones, saying they died in an “unnecessary war.”
The war in eastern DRC is rooted in ethnic tensions, political power struggles, and control over valuable natural resources. Rwanda’s involvement is driven by the concern that extremist Hutus who fled to the DRC after the 1994 genocide, which saw around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed, might stage a comeback and possibly overthrow President Kagame.
The Rwandan government frames the conflict as a defense of ethnic Tutsis in eastern Congo against ethnic Hutu forces linked to the Rwandan genocide three decades ago. However, the DRC and other analysts believe that Rwanda’s true intentions, like those of the approximately 120 militias operating in the region, are to exploit the abundant critical minerals.
The region is rich in such critical minerals as cobalt, coltan, tin, tantalum, and gold. These minerals are essential for various industries, particularly in the production of electronics and renewable energy technologies. Cobalt, for instance, is a key component in rechargeable batteries, while coltan is used in electronic devices.
