Goma, 27 May, 2021 / 8:15 pm (ACI Africa).
There is mounting confusion in Goma, a city in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that recently experienced a volcanic eruption where residents are unable to decide between fleeing and staying put, away from militants who are situated outside the city.
Catholic Charity organization, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, has reported that the situation in the city, where the Catholic Diocese of Goma is headquartered, is alarming.
“After the first eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano on Saturday night, the situation seemed to have calmed down, but strong earth movements and the risk of a new eruption are forcing the population to evacuate the city, which has an estimated two million inhabitants,” the leadership of ACN says in a report shared with ACI Africa Thursday, May 27.
In the report, Fr. Arsene Masumbuko, the Rector of St. John Paul II Seminary in Buhimba in Goma Diocese tells ACN that people are now forced to decide between the danger they face with the ongoing tremors and possible assaults by armed groups.
“I ask for prayers for the population of Goma and for our Seminarians. We still don't know if we will have to evacuate the Seminary,” says Fr. Masumbuko.