‘No safe place to go to from Goma’ for millions as humanitarian crisis looms in eastern Congo city
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Bodies are lying on the streets. Medical staff in overwhelmed hospitals are treating hundreds of wounded civilians against the backdrop of gunfire and explosions. Electricity, water and internet access are cut off, and medical and food warehouses are being looted.
It remained unclear how much of Goma is controlled by the rebels, who marched into eastern Congo’s strategic city early Monday to both fear and cheers among residents.
But more than 2 million of its civilian residents, including 1 million already displaced by the violence, were already paying the price, with the U.N. and aid agencies warning of “catastrophic” humanitarian consequences.
“The situation is confusing, complex and horrific,” said Greg Ramm, Congo’s country director for Save The Children, an aid group. “There is no safe place to go from Goma. Every time a family flees the guns and bombs to a supposed safe place, they are forced to move again.”
There were also reports of sexual violence and rape committed by the fighters in the city, the U.N. said.
The M23 group is one of about 100 armed factions vying for a foothold in eastern Congo in one of Africa’s longest wars, displacing 4.5 million people and creating what the U.N. called “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”
The rebels’ offensive in the region, which contains trillions of dollars in mineral wealth, escalated in recent weeks, sending additional hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes and displacement camps.
About 300,000 people sheltering in camps on Goma’s outskirts fled into the city as front lines moved over the weekend, according to the U.N., only to find themselves trapped by the violence as rebels entered the city.
With the ongoing fighting, the airport closed and roads blocked, aid groups said on Tuesday that they were unable to provide lifesaving support to those in need.
“World Vision, which has been supporting people living in Goma … and in the long-term displacement camps in and around the city, has suspended its aid operations due to armed group and Congolese Army operations that have shuttered roads and supply lines,” said David Munkley, head of operations in eastern Congo for the Christian aid group World Vision.
The main hospital in Goma treating the wounded, run by the International Committee of the Red Cross, is stretched beyond its limits, with tents set up in its courtyard to accommodate the civilians wounded by bullets and heavy artillery, its staff said on Tuesday.
“The wounded are transported by motorbike, others by bus, or with the help of Congolese Red Cross volunteers,” said Myriam Favier, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Goma. “Civilians arrive seriously wounded by bullets or shrapnel. The entire hospital is mobilized and the three surgical teams work tirelessly to treat patients who are sometimes lying on the floor due to lack of space.”
Humanitarian workers and medical staff are targets themselves. The ICRC medical warehouse was looted, and their staff and ambulance were shot at. Save the Children’s office in Goma was hit by an explosion on Tuesday, the group said.
Goma is a regional trade and humanitarian hub where there are hundreds of thousands of the more than 6 million people displaced by eastern Congo’s prolonged conflict over ethnic tensions, resulting in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
Some of the civilians, desperate to flee the fighting, crossed into Rwanda to seek safety. More than 1,000 Congolese have been registered since Monday, according to Rwandan authorities.
Christian Bahati, a Congolese teacher was among hundreds sheltering in Gisenyi, just across the border from Congo.
“What we want is this war to come to an end,” he said. “Congolese people are victims, but now they find themselves seeking refuge from the aggressor.”
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Ignatius Ssuuna contributed to this report from Gisenyi, Rwanda.