Amid “vast” Humanitarian Needs in Eastern DR Congo, UK Catholic Entity Calls for Civilian, Aid Workers’ Protection

“CAFOD is calling for respect of International Humanitarian Law to protect civilians and aid workers in Goma,” the entity that had earlier reported scaling up humanitarian response in Eastern DRC region says in the February 7 report. 

On January 27, the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement (M23) rebels announced that its forces had taken over the capital of Eastern Province of the DRC, Goma, Reuters reported.

“Rwandan-backed rebels marched into eastern Congo's largest city Goma on Monday (January 27), and the U.N. said they were supported by at least some regular Rwandan troops, in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict for more than a decade,” the January 27 Reuters report indicated.

According to the report, “A rebel alliance spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia said it had seized the lakeside city of more than 2 million people, a hub for displaced people and aid groups lying on the border with Rwanda and last occupied by M23 in 2012.”

The latest reports about the protracted crisis in mineral-rich East of the DR Congo indicate that nearly 3,000 people have been killed in the city of Goma, and hundreds of female inmates were raped when they were attacked inside Munzenze prison in Goma during amass jailbreak, among other dehumanizing atrocities.

In the February 7 report, CAFOD discloses its collaboration with a local female-led organization to support displaced people in the region, as part of the humanitarian response, saying, “Local Catholic women held a conference on February 4 to announce their commitment to provide emergency aid with CAFOD.”

“A better world needs all of us and we are seeing this in action. With donations from people like you, the local women are providing essential humanitarian aid and shelter. They are identifying host families in parishes for displaced people to stay,” CAFOD says in the report.

The entity adds, “We are there with them, providing food assistance (like beans, rice, and flour), hygiene products (like soap and children’s diapers), and psychological support to people who have suffered catastrophic trauma from conflict.”

Calling for more humanitarian help, CAFOD's Country Representative for DRC, Bernard Balibuno, is quoted as saying, “We are continuing to offer assistance and support to vulnerable people caught up in the chaos.”

“We urge all those in positions of influence, as well as in DRC and the wider region, to support viable efforts towards peaceful negotiations, and work to bring an end to the suffering of so many, to protect civilians, and prevent any further increase in the fighting,” Mr. Balibuno is quoted as saying in the February 7 CAFOD report.

In an interview with ACI Africa, Br. Adolphe Mulengezi Mihingano of the Institute of the Consolata Missionaries (IMC) said that the violence in his native country is rooted in “a complex” web of factors, including foreign interference and resource exploitation.

“The crisis eastern DRC is the result a complex combination of historical, economic, political and geopolitical factors. Eastern DRC is rich in natural resources including gold, coltan, cobalt, diamonds and other strategic minerals used in the global technology industry,” the native of Goma, who is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Social Communications at the Rome-based Pontifical Salesian University said during the February 6 interview. 

Br. Mulengezi divulged that “Independent investigations and UN reports have revealed that Rwanda is supplying arms, military equipment and logistical support to the M23 rebels. Satellite images, testimonies from captured fighters and communications intercepts attest to the presence of Rwandan soldiers alongside the M23.”

Citing testimonies from residents of Goma, where some of his family members are, he described the security and humanitarian situation in Eastern DRC as “extremely worrying”.

“One of the most heartbreaking testimonies is that of families who have lost loved ones without being able to offer them a dignified funeral. Many have seen loved ones killed by bullets or bombardments, without being able to recover their bodies because of the insecurity. This unfinished mourning is an immense pain for the survivors,” the Congolese IMC Br. lamented.

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He acknowledged with appreciation what the Church is doing to support victims of the violence. He said, “The Church plays a fundamental role assisting the populations affected by the crisis in Goma. The Catholic and Protestant Churches have expressed their willingness to open a dialogue including the M23 in order to promote a peaceful solution to the crisis.”

“Missionaries and church organizations are actively involved humanitarian aid, distributing food and providing medical assistance to the wounded and sick,” Br. Mulengezi told ACI Africa on February 6.