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Goma: ‘Critical’ moment for population caught in crossfire – UN humanitarians

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), civilians caught up in heavy fighting face a “critical” 24 hours, with food and water running low and aid unable to enter, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that his colleagues on the ground reported “heavy small arms fire and mortar fire” in the regional capital Goma as well as “many dead bodies in the streets”.

“We have reports of gender-based violence and rape committed by fighters, looting of property, including of a humanitarian warehouse, and humanitarian and health facilities being hit,” he said.

Last week, fighting in the area intensified between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group and Congolese forces. According to media reports the rebels declared Goma under their control.

Mr. Laerke said that hospitals in the city were “overwhelmed, struggling to manage the influx of wounded people”. He warned of challenges to power and water supplies, noting that internet services were cut off on Monday. As of Tuesday morning, “Goma is still offline,” he said.

For years, Goma had been a refuge for desperate people displaced by the violence in eastern DRC, amid what top UN aid official in the country Bruno Lemarquis called “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth” on Monday.

Violent attacks with the use of heavy artillery targeting internally displaced persons’ (IDP) sites in the area have claimed lives and sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in past days. The UN refugee agency (UNCHR) estimates that IDP sites hosting some 300,000 people emptied over the weekend.

Speaking from Kinshasa, UN World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson Shelley Thakral highlighted the plight of families fleeing the fighting, who face “unimaginable” challenges.

“Every step of their journey is fraught with danger. Roads are blocked, ports are closed, and those crossing Lake Kivu risk their lives in makeshift boats,” she said.

Ms. Thakral sounded the alarm over food scarcity in Goma and rising food prices, as the airport and major access roads within the region have been cut off. Food assistance activities in and around Goma are temporarily paused because of the security situation, she said.

“Depending on the duration of violence, the supply of food into the city could be severely hampered. This is a huge test for Congolese trapped by fighting in Goma and surrounding areas,” the WFP spokesperson insisted, adding that the next 24 hours will be “critical” as people start running low on supplies.

The dire humanitarian and protection crisis is compounded by rising health risks, Dr. Adelheid Marschang, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s Emergency Response Coordinator for the DRC, told reporters.

“There are currently hundreds of people in hospital, most admitted with gunshot and shrapnel wounds,” she said, underscoring the risk of secondary infections.

Dr. Marschang stressed WHO’s concern for the “health and safety of women and girls who are at a higher risk of violence, including rape”. Some women have been “raped several times in search for firewood,” she said.

The WHO official also highlighted the threat to pregnant women, who already face “very high” maternal death rates.

The situation threatens to aggravate an already dire health crisis. Last year the provinces of North and South Kivu reported high numbers of cholera, measles and malaria cases and deaths, Dr. Marschang said, warning of a “heightened risk for spillover of cholera” into neighbouring countries and provinces.

The area was also the epicentre of an outbreak of a new strain of mpox, declared a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024. Dr. Marschang warned that the new wave of displacement will make it increasingly hard to track and treat the disease.

Amid the lethal violence, hospitals and health workers themselves are in danger, the WHO official said, with “reports of health workers being shot at and patients including babies being caught in crossfire”.

“Attacks on healthcare violate the rules of war. Healthcare must be protected at all times,” she insisted.

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DRC humanitarian update OCHA - WFP - WHO

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