Bishop of Goma ‘disgusted’ by rebel violence in eastern DR Congo

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo said he ‘cannot understand what these people have done to deserve such unworthy treatment of human beings that has lasted for three decades’.

The Bishop of Goma reported grim conditions in the city after rebel forces announced a ceasefire and a halt to their advance through the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“At the moment, the truce is holding, but people are still afraid to venture outside because they do not feel completely safe,” said Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele after the Alliance Fleuve Congo (River Congo Alliance) – the rebel coalition led by the Rwanda-backed M23 Movement – declared a ceasefire on 3 February for “humanitarian reasons”.

“The worst situation is in the hospitals, which are receiving a large number of wounded and are in difficulty due to the lack of medicines and equipment,” said Bishop Ngumbi, speaking from Goma to Agenzia Fides. “Internet connections are still difficult, people have to make do with makeshift solutions to stay connected with the outside world.”

He reported that most schools remained closed “because many school buildings were damaged or destroyed in the fighting”.

After rebel forces last week captured the city, the largest in the region and capital of North Kivu state, Bishop Ngumbi issued a statement condemning strikes that killed civilians and damaged essential facilities.

“I am disgusted to learn of the bombings, including those targeting the neonatal department of the Charité Maternelle General Hospital, resulting in the deaths of newborns,” he said on 27 January, appealing for “the protection of life, guarantee access to basic services for all, and prevent sexual violence”.

Vivian van de Perre, the deputy head of the United Nations’ Stabilisation Mission in DR Congo (Monusco), reported that hundreds of women were raped and burned alive in a Goma prison. She told The Guardian that during the fall of the city, 4,000 male prisoners escaped from a facility that also held “a few hundred women”.

“They were all raped and then they set fire to the women’s wing. They all died afterwards,” she said.

Van de Perre, who heads the Monusco peacekeeping force now deployed in the city, said during the fighting last week that “the attacks have resulted in numerous civilian casualties, further displacement, and significant trauma among the population”.

“Despite the appeals from Member States during the Security Council meeting on 26 January, the M23/RDF [Rwanda Defence Force] launched an attack on Goma, using heavy direct and indirect fire,” she said, confirming that Rwandan forces were involved in fighting in North Kivu, despite the continued denials of the Kigali government.

The Congolese bishops voiced “great sadness and much concern” at the violence across the eastern DR Congo in a statement on 3 February from Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu of Lubumbashi, the president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO).

They said the situation was “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 capital of South Kivu state, where civilians were reportedly forming defence militias. M23 forces declared a ceasefire on 3 February and declared it had “no intention of taking control of Bukavu or other localities”, but Van de Perre suggested this was a response to the deployment of Burundian reinforcements.

“It has resulted in looting in the city of Goma and surrounding towns and has worsened the mass displacement of populations already impoverished by recurrent conflicts that these provinces have been experiencing for the past 30 years,” the CENCO statement said.

The Archbishop of Kinshasa Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu said he “cannot understand what these people have done to deserve such unworthy treatment of human beings that has lasted for three decades”.

“For us, it is incomprehensible,” he said, after a meeting this week with President Felix Tshisekedi alongside Protestant church leaders. “This is why we, as pastors, while taking our responsibility to go towards each other to seek solutions, we want first to express our compassion, our closeness and also our solidarity with our brothers and sisters affected by this situation, who live in Goma, Bukavu, Beni, and Butembo.”

Cafod reports hospital bombing as Church pleads for peace in east DRC

Church backs ceasefire between DR Congo and Rwanda

Cafod reported that at least 600,000 people were displaced around Goma. A report from the Congolese health authorities dated 30 January said Goma’s remaining hospitals were overcrowded, with at least 2,800 people in their care besides many more requiring treatment. It said the authorities had collected 770 bodies but many more lay in the streets where shooting continued. Reports on 4 February said 2,000 bodies were awaiting burial.

In the parish of Saint Francis Xavier in Ndosho, on the outskirts of Goma, around 2,000 displaced people were sheltering without water and in precarious conditions, while another 1,600 people were housed in the nearby school.

At his general audience on 29 January, Pope Francis prayed for “the swift restoration of peace and security” and urged “local authorities and the international community to make every effort to resolve the conflict through peaceful means”.

He also responded to riots in DR Congo’s capital, where protesters on stormed embassies of countries they alleged sponsored the violence in North Kivu.

“I am also following with apprehension the events unfolding in the capital, Kinshasa, and I hope that all forms of violence against people and their property will cease,” the Pope said.

Pax Christi International urged the UN to address the humanitarian crisis and confront the “global indifference for peace” in DR Congo.

A message from its Brussels office on 29 January said: “The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in DR Congo is a test of global responsibility and cannot remain an overlooked tragedy. Refugees in overcrowded camps, families torn apart by violence, and the collapse of basic services demand urgent attention. Pax Christi International stands in solidarity with the Congolese people and calls on the United Nations to prioritise peace, justice, and the dignity of those affected. It is a moral imperative for the international community to act decisively. Peace is possible, but it requires urgent and collective action.”

It described the M23 and RDF offensive as “a blatant breach of ceasefire agreements and a direct challenge to African-led peace efforts”.

The Africa Christian Professionals Forum (ACPF) also called on the international community to intervene.

“We call on the United Nations, African Union, and other international actors to intensify diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to resolve the crisis,” the group said in a statement on 28 January. “The escalating violence has caused loss of life and widespread destruction. We urge all parties to cease hostilities and engage in dialogue to end the suffering of civilians.”

South African bishops mourned members of the country’s armed forces killed while serving with Monusco in DR Congo.

“Our hearts got to the families, and we pray for God’s consolation and strength during this difficult time,” the Southern African Bishops Conference said in a statement on 28 January, as the number of South African soldiers killed in DR Congo reached 16.

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