Congo crisis: M23 rebels take over Goma-thousands of escape danger!

Congo crisis: M23 rebels take over Goma-thousands of escape danger!

The situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is alarming! The M23 rebel group recently brought the city of Goma under its control and thus massively endangered the security of the region. The leader of the M23, Corneille Nangaa, said the city was now in the hands of the rebels and asked the soldiers of the Congolese army to surrender. In the meantime, the UN reports of more than 400,000 people who have been on the run since the start of the fights of only three weeks. In Goma and the surrounding province of North-Kivu, the streets are blocked and the airport no longer reached for humanitarian aid campaigns, as Bintou Keita, the head of the UN mission in the Congo, emphasized. Thousands of the fronts are stuck.

waternot and humanitarian crisis

The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. Missio Austria warns of a lack of drinking water in the provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu, where many displaced people are looking for protection. The water supply process in Goma was destroyed by the fights, and the population is forced to obtain drinking water from Lake Kivu or catch rainwater. This situation harbors the risk of outbreaks of illness, especially cholera. To help the affected people, Missio asks for support, since local project partners already provide water preparation systems and water tanks. The principal of the priest seminar in Bukavu, Charles Badesire, reported on great uncertainty and interrupted food supply due to the impassable roads. "There are deaths in the city every day. There is a lot of fear," he said.

The international community reacts to chaos. The UN Security Council holds special meetings and condemns the alleged support of the M23 by Rwanda. UN Secretary General António Guterres appeals to Rwanda to stop support for the M23. The Congolese Foreign Minister described the penetration of the Rwandic soldiers as a "declaration of war" and called for measures to stop the conflict. The situation remains tense, while the number of refugees continues to increase and the violence in the region intensifies, as Tagesschau.de Missio urgently calls for help to assist the people in the Congo, as well as kathpress.at.