Suffering continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured more than its fair share of suffering in recent decades. In the eastern region of Kivu, the local population and Church are subjected to attack by Congolese rebels, armed groups from Rwanda and Islamists from Uganda.
By ACN Staff
A mother with her baby in a refugee camp in North Kivu, DRC. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the most unstable countries in Africa. In recent decades, the country has suffered from near continuous civil war. The bloodiest conflict of the twenty-first century took place in DRC (the Second Congo War), with most people in the west not even knowing this war took place. The conflict was fought partly between Congolese factions, but DRC’s neighbours were also significantly involved. The death toll of this war, which ended in 2003, is disputed, but it is potentially in excess of 5 million people. The lowest estimates are in excess of 2 million people dead. It is a tragedy that so many people died, but it is also tragic that so many of us are unaware of the immense suffering in this part of Africa. Conflict and destruction, unfortunately, is not relegated to DRC’s past. It continues to this day. The Congolese provinces of South and North Kivu are particularly troubled.
Refugee camp in North Kivu, DRC. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Both provinces are in the east of DRC, on the shores of Lake Kivu in the Africa Great Lake region. North Kivu shares a boarder with Uganda and Rwanda, while South Kivu borders both Rwanda and Burundi. This proximity to so many neighbouring countries is part of the reason the Kivu region is so troubled. Various armed groups from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda are involved in a long on-and-off war in Kivu, which has also involved Congolese groups and the Congolese Armed Forces. The largest non-state Congolese group, is the rebel M23 Movement. Their rebellion has killed and displaced thousands. Hutu fighters from Rwanda, who fled into DRC after Rwanda’s civil war and genocide in the 1990s, are particularly formidable and active in the region. There is also a small group of Islamists from Uganda rampaging in the area. This group had initially tried to set up an Islamist government in Uganda. Muslims are a very small minority in Uganda, so the uprising failed. The Islamist fled into Kivu like the Hutu fighters from Rwanda. Similarly, groups from Burundi have fled into Kivu after being defeated in Burundi’s civil war.
Refugee camp in North Kivu, DRC. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo at an Aid to the Church in Need event in Paris, 2019. (Credit: Solène Perrot / Aid to the Church in Need)
With all these groups, alongside an almost complete lack of state services and governance, unsurprisingly Kivu has become a very confusing conflict. Local people get caught in the crossfire or are directly targeted. It is often difficult to establish who carried which attack or atrocity. The Church has stepped up to the task of advocating for the Congolese people. Aid to the Church in Need stands beside the local Church in advocating for the right of the people in Kivu to live without the fear of being killed in an attack or atrocity carried out by the armed groups in the area. Father José Arieira de Carvalho, a Portuguese Comboni priest living in DRC, told Aid to the Church in Need of the fear in this part of DRC “where rebel groups roam across the region, looting and murdering.”
On 30 October, an attack occurred in the village of Lisasa in the Beni region of North Kivu. As is often the case in Kivu, it is not yet clear who carried out the attack, but it is believed to be one of the irregular armed groups operating in the area. At least 21 people were killed, including the local catechist Richard Kisusi. It has been also reported the local church was desecrated, houses burned and the village’s medical post looted. This is just one example of the many regular attacks which take place in this part of DRC.
While speaking at an Aid to the Church Need event in Paris last year, Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa said the following to European Catholics: “I am here among you to ask you to continue to support us in our fight for more dignity for the Congolese people. I implore you to pray for all humanity because I know that what is happening in the Congo is comparable to the situation in many other countries of the world, particularly in Africa.” As the Church plays such a vital role in advocating for the rights of the Congolese people, and also because of many practical difficulties in administering the Sacraments in such a troubled country, Aid to the Church in Need has provided financial support to priests and seminarians in DRC for the last 25 years. Aid to the Church in Need also provides humanitarian aid in DRC. If you would like to help Aid to the Church in Need’s work in countries like DRC, we invite you to donate below. We also request you to please keep the Congolese people in your prayers.