M23 rebels have seized new territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), encircling and seizing portions of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, this week.
Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Goma stated on January 27 that the targets hit by the shelling were the diocesan prosecutor’s office building, which had windows damaged, and the neonatal unit of the Maternal General Charité Hospital where many newborns were killed.
Due to intense fighting and looting, feeder routes into the city are now shut, trapping individuals. Others have escaped to Rwanda, which is nearby.
Concerns have been raised by the World Food Programme (WFP) about the stoppage of humanitarian aid distribution in the region, which could result in a serious food shortage in the coming hours.
The humanitarian needs in Goma are currently enormous, according to Bernard Balibuno, the nation’s representative for CAFOD, the Catholic Church’s official relief organization in England and Wales. “The fighting has forced the city to shut down, and hundreds of thousands of people are displaced, many of whom are forced to beg on the streets,” he said.
One of the many forgotten nations in the world is the Democratic Republic of Congo. Millions of people have died in the DRC from starvation, disease, and violence while the west’s attention is on the Middle East and Ukraine.