According to experts, there are over 130 militia groups in eastern Congo. One of these groups, the March 23rd Movement - commonly known as M23, has been operating in North Kivu for over a decade. M23 rose to prominence in eastern Congo when they first took over Goma in 2012. Although the Congolese government and M23 entered into a ceasefire agreement later that year, M23 restarted their operations in late 2021.
Nearly 3 decades of conflict in eastern Congo have resulted in over 7 million casualties and displaced more than 7 million Congolese.
As of January 28th this year, M23 once again entered and claimed control of Goma.
Africa New Day's Response
- Thousands have benefited from our new well. Thank you to all who helped make that a reality!
- The team in Goma, through working through their trauma and struggles, has created support groups and systems to help those affected by the conflict.
- A humanitarian ceasefire has allowed us and other NGOs to start the long road of reopening to the repercussions of the war.
On the Ground in Goma
- As of last week, UN officials have recovered 3,000 bodies from the streets of Goma with this number expected to continue to rise.
- Thousands of male inmates broke out of prison in Goma last week. During the jailbreak, hundreds in the women's wing were raped. The women's wing was then set on fire with no survivors.
- Although some have said M23 has no plans to expand further south and west, M23 leader announced on February 7th, "We are going to fight until we get to Kinshasa. We have come to Goma to stay; we are not going to withdraw. We are going to move forward from Goma to Bukavu … up to Kinshasa".
- Recent international reports have reported strong presence of Rwandan troops within Goma in addition to M23 fighters.
- Waterborne diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, and widespread hunger escalate dramatically in Goma since the invasion; further stressing a failing healthcare system already burdened by injuries due to violence.
- Over 400,000 people have been displaced in January. This is in addition to the already 7.1 million IDPs in Congo.
Now is The Time to Take Action
- Share this with your network
- Join our Action Network campaign, and let your representatives know to take action
- Give to Africa New Day and help provide essential resources to the people of Goma
