Eastern Congo residents scramble for food and safety as conflict intensifies
An intensifying conflict between Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) army and the Tutsi-led M23 rebels, allegedly backed by Rwanda, has disrupted food supplies to the eastern city of Goma, affecting more than two-million residents and displaced people.
Clashes have escalated since the start of the year in towns and villages around the provincial capital as rebels seized territory, forcing thousands to seek refuge in the city.
The use of heavy artillery and shelling has killed dozens, and hospitals in Goma have struggled to cope with the influx of injured civilians.
The UN and other aid agencies have warned that the fighting risks worsening the humanitarian crisis in the eastern
Congo, where more than fivemillion people have been displaced in the four provinces of the region due to conflicts.
The government of Congo, UN officials and Western powers have accused Rwanda of supporting the resurgent rebels who claim to defend ethnic Tutsi interests against Hutu militias whose leaders participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Rwanda has denied the claims.
The US urged Rwanda on Saturday to immediately withdraw all of its military personnel from Congo and remove surface-to-air missile systems, saying these threatened the lives of civilians, UN and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian workers, and commercial flights in eastern Congo.
With the rebels advancing towards the town of Sake, about 25km west of Goma, the city now relies on scant food supplies brought in by canoes from villages around Lake Kivu.
The Kituku market, on the lake’s banks, has become a critical source of food for Goma.
Esperance Nyota, a banana seller, warned of an impending famine if the conflict persisted and the routes supplying Goma from surrounding farmlands remained cut off.
“The entire city of Goma depends on this small market for supplies of cassava, corn, and bananas,” Nyota said.
About 135,000 internally displaced people have fled Sake in the past week, according to the UN refugee agency.
They join the hundreds of thousands already displaced around Goma since 2022 due to the ongoing conflict.
The UN agency has warned that the conflict risks worsening the strain on limited resources to cater for more than 800,000 internally displaced people, and 2.5-million already displaced in the North Kivu province.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said last week the advance of the armed groups towards Sake, a crucial link to Goma, posed an imminent threat to the entire aid system.
The Kyeshero hospital in Goma, which provides free treatment to conflict victims, has seen an influx of patients injured by gunfire and bombings, doctors said.