Alarm as more wounded Congolese seek medical aid in MSF-run clinics
People carry their belongings as they flee from their villages around Sake, in Masisi territory, following clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, toward Goma, North Kivu Province on February 7, 2024.
Medical charity MSF, Doctors Without Borders, is raising the alarm over an unusual rise in the number of wounded people seeking medical help from its clinics in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, reflecting the gravity of new clashes there between rebel M23 and government forces.
MSF says it has treated 160 people who showed up with injuries from armed clashes in North and South Kivu provinces.
According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), over the past few days, major clashes have occurred in North Kivu’s Masisi territory and have continued in areas including Numbi highlands of Minova in South Kivu.
In Masisi clashes over the past week saw more than 102,000 people flee their homes. MSF said the number of wounded reflects the extent of violence, besides the massive displacement of civilians.
“Between 3 and 6 January, MSF and Ministry of Health (DRC) teams treated 75 wounded people at the Masisi General Reference Hospital and the Nyabiondo Reference Health Centre,” said Stephane Goetghebuer, Head of Mission in charge of MSF projects in North Kivu.
“In addition to providing this care, these two health facilities also sheltered hundreds of civilians for several days, who sought refuge there to benefit from increased protection.”
In the aftermath of these clashes, the M23/AFC took control of Masisi Centre city and the surrounding area at the weekend.
Fighting has since continued farther south to the border with South Kivu. The M23 with its allied Congo River Alliance (AFC) warned on Sunday that they would respond to every attack by the Congolese army, FARDC, in what signalled a new phase of violence after several months of relative calm.
Lawrence Kanyuka, AFC’s spokesman, said on Sunday that while the coalition was willing to respect ceasefire arrangements, it was still “committed to securing all liberated towns and protecting all citizens and their property.”
The M23 has fought against the Congolese army over the past decade in an off-and-on war. Last year, Angola which has been mediating between Rwanda and the DRC, persuaded parties to a ceasefire, pending a permanent peace deal between the countries.
One of the preliminaries involved Rwanda ceasing to support or arm M23, and the DRC not to back the FDLR, remnants of the genocidaires in Rwanda in 1994, who fled into Congolese territory, from where Kigali believes they have been planning to destabilise Rwanda.
Both sides have often denied backing the respective rebel groups, but had last year agreed to form a monitoring mechanism to watch each other’s violations. That mechanism didn’t last and trust between Rwanda and DRC started to break down again towards the end of December, torpedoing planned meetings.
Sporadic violence ensued, with M23 accusing Kinshasa of provoking the war. The renewed violence also points to the weaknesses of the Southern African Development Community mission (SAMIDRC), deployed in eastern Congo since January 2023.
Meant to take down the M23, the force has largely struggled to counter an enemy Kinshasa considers a terrorist group.
