In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the M23 rebel group continues its advance in South Kivu. It has now taken over Bukavu, the second-largest city in the country’s eastern region after Goma. The relentless violence has caused a humanitarian emergency with hundreds of thousands of displaced people and constant human rights violations. Despite the difficulty of operating in this context, INTERSOS is making every effort to continue supporting the population.

 

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the M23 rebel group continues to expand its control in the eastern part of the country. After taking control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, at the end of January, the M23 forces continued to advance significantly in South Kivu, conquering key locations. On Friday, the advance reached Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu and the second largest city in the country’s eastern region after Goma, with over 1 million inhabitants. On Sunday, the M23 took control of the city of Bukavu after an almost immediate surrender by the Congolese National Army, as had happened in other cities.

The progressive advance of the M23 continues to cause mass displacements, and people continue to have to move, relentlessly reached by the violence from which they are trying to escape.

“Establishing a priority of what is needed is impossible. The priority is to have everything,” says Olimpia Sermonti, INTERSOS Deputy Director for Central-Eastern Africa. “One of the main needs concerns medicines since during the siege of Goma, the stocks of many NGOs were looted.“

The consequences of this violence are devastating for the civilian population of North and South Kivu. According to United Nations estimates, the fighting in Goma alone has caused at least 700 deaths and over 3,000 injuries, as well as tens of thousands of displaced people. UNHCR reports that the heavy shelling and looting caused by the recent fighting have destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova – North and South Kivu – which were home to 250,000 internally displaced people.

News of serious human rights violations, including rape, assault, looting, forced labour and forced recruitment, continues to emerge.

In this area, INTERSOS carries out protection activities aimed precisely at addressing human rights violations, but intervening in this situation is highly complex. “Our intervention is not directly limited, but the security conditions in which we operate actually impact our operational capabilities“, adds Sermonti. Despite this, we are making every effort to continue to support the population. “In addition to the protection activities we already carry out,” says Andrea Martinotti, INTERSOS Director for Central-Eastern Africa, “we are now activating to intervene in the Minova area, with interventions to access water and sanitation, including in health facilities, and distributions of basic necessities.“