Humanitarian Situation in Eastern DR Congo “serious and risks getting worse”: Salesians

Kinshasa, 14 March, 2024 / 8:55 PM

The situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where clashes between rebels and the military have intensified is “serious and risks getting worse”, members of the Religious Institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) in the country have said.

In a report, the Salesiansappeal for donations and humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

In Goma city, the religious congregation says in the March 11 report, IDPs are living in difficult conditions.

“Streets that allowed food supplies to be brought in are no longer accessible. If things do not change, a serious famine looms for all the inhabitants of Goma. The scarcity of some foodstuffs is already noted, and the population is living under extreme duress. The added worry is that the city will fall into the hands of the rebels,” the Salesians say. 

The Salesians say the February 7 attack on Sake, a town near Goma, has put more pressure on Goma as displaced people seek refuge in the city. 

According to a February 23 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), fighting in Sake has resulted in the displacement of 144,000 individuals, who were “forced to flee the outskirts of Goma.”

In the Salesians report, Pascal Bauma from the Salesians of Goma Project Office says, “Along the Sake-Goma road, toward Mugunga, we see children, young and old, sitting, tired, they don’t know where to go. They were displaced people who had previously set their sights on Sake. Now, following the clashes, they were forced to leave Sake and head toward Goma. This is the second time these people have had to flee for safety.”  

Bauma says, “We cannot yet estimate the number of people who have moved from Sake to Goma because the situation is ongoing. Thousands of families have been forced to leave.”

He, however, says that some people have chosen to remain in their hometowns as they were afraid of living as displaced people.  

“Salesians in the country are calling on the international community to help with donations and humanitarian aid to help alleviate the challenges the displaced have faced,” officials of the religious congregation say on March 11. 

The intensified violence in the central African nation has caught the attention of global leaders including Pope Francis who said he is “following with concern the increase in violence in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

In his message after praying the Angelus on February 25, the Holy Father said he joins the members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) in inviting the people of God in DRC to show solidarity with the inhabitants of the Eastern part of the country through intensified prayers. 

Catholic Bishops in the country issued a statement on February 20, asking for prayers for Eastern DRC.