The war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been going on for decades, with ups and downs. An offensive by a Rwandan-backed armed group threatens to degenerate into a regional war. A forgotten war while the world looks away.
Tag: m23
Militias in the North Kivu region are facing desertions as the UN armed contingent begins to move into the embattled territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But fighting still flares.
KIWANJA – On a recent weekday morning, time seemed to be standing still in this town in eastern Congo. A strange atmosphere reigns, with most of the shops and stalls closed and the town’s schools empty. “Bullets can start flying at any time, so we let our students out early,” says a teacher in Kiwanja […]
GOMA – While the Congolese government was keeping the public in the dark about the fall of Goma to the M23 rebels in mid-November, here the news had already gone viral on Facebook. Soon after the rest of Congo was checking in on a variety of social networks to follow news updates and the latest […]
BUKAVU – During the occupation of the Congolese city of Goma by the M23 rebels last month, the nearby border with Rwanda remained open, and daily exchanges between the two central African neighbors continued as usual. “We have no problem with the Rwandans as people. They are our brothers, our neighbors,” explains a Congolese teacher […]
GOMA – Following the withdrawal of the M23 rebel troops that for 12 days occupied the eastern city of Goma, locals remain cautious and fearful, despite reassurances from government authorities. Meanwhile, those who had supported the M23 are keeping a low profile. The M23 rebels took control of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu […]
MASISI – Every day at 6 a.m., a parking lot near a roundabout in this northeastern Congo city fills with minibuses, motorbikes and heavy cargo trucks. The atalakus (ticket sellers) shout out names of destinations: “Masisi! Nyabiondo!” Passengers board with their packages: manufactured goods, drinks, salted fish…Everyone is pushing each another, trying to get the […]
BENI – Last June, with rebel groups trying to force him to enroll, Paluku managed to escape into the Rwenzori mountains, in northeastern Congo. Near his 20th birthday, this native of Eringeti, about 400 kilometers to the north of the Congolese capital, Goma, is hardly the only one to have fled a region where armed […]