20/02 • CONGO
Civil war between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Rwanda-backed M23 fighters, continues to decimate the country’s territorial integrity.
The Democratic Republic of Congo.
Civil war, waged between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Rwanda-backed M23 fighters, continues to decimate the country’s territorial integrity. On Friday, M23 fighters entered Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, after seizing Goma last month.
Bukavu offers little to no real protection, having been “abandoned by all the authorities and [taken] without any loyalist force”. AFP news reports state that the Congolese military left Kavumu airport deserted, in a hasty retreat to Bukavu. Kavumu, where DRC troops had been stationed, acted as the last deterrent for the rebel forces before reaching the city. Further consequences of M23’s push south include the destruction of emergency shelters and the internal displacement of 350,000 people, according to the UN.
The depth of this violence has worsened the already dire humanitarian crisis. Declarations of a unilateral ceasefire collapsed after a couple days, and the escalating conflict has facilitated a rapid rise in military recruitment of youth (whether via enlistment or coercion).
Gender-based violence also remains devastatingly unchallenged, particularly in a void of any centralised authority. As a result, hundreds of children have been subject to sexual violence, marking a horrific new record for the country. Sexual violence has been used as a “weapon of war”, exploited by both sides. “One mother recounted to [Al Jazeera staff] how her six daughters, the youngest just 12 years old, were systematically raped by armed men while searching for food.”
UNICEF reports that of the total 572 rape cases reported, 170 were children. These shocking statistics are made worse by a general global indifference, particularly through media (social, traditional or otherwise). This is particularly evident in the lack of coverage on the Goma city jailbreak two weeks ago, where over a hundred female prisoners were sexually abused and burned alive.
Congo is teetering on the precipice of irreparable damage. When hospitals are shelled, innocent people are actively targeted, and mass death becomes normalised, global powers must critically examine their complacency and seek to take meaningful action.
Our ignorance must not be stronger than our actions.
May God open our eyes, as we pray, to those that we have allowed to become invisible.
PRAYER POINTS:
- We pray for those whose lives depend on humanitarian aid. May provision reach those in need. Strengthen those working to serve the vulnerable, despite political and logistical obstacles.
- We pray for wisdom and integrity among leaders. May decision-makers be guided by compassion rather than power, and may justice prevail over systems of greed and indifference.
- We pray that trust and cooperation would be restored, and that fractures within governments and organisations would be healed.
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