Congolese bishop says he is dismayed as violence grows in Goma

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Bishop of Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), says he is dismayed at the scale of violence in his diocese as M23 rebels advanced into the town.

The Rwanda-backed rebel group announced it had captured Goma – the largest town in the east of the DRC.

The government of the DRC described the development as a “declaration of war” by Rwanda. The United Nations said the capture has caused “mass panic” among Goma’s two million residents, with reports indicating that at least 237,000 people have been displaced in the region since the beginning of January.

In a statement sent to Crux, Ngumbi Ngengele spoke about learning that parts of a hospital had been bombed, triggering the deaths of several babies.

“As Bishop of Goma, moved by pastoral solicitude, I follow closely, with dismay, the security situation in the city of Goma. I am disgusted to learn of the bombings, among others of the neonatology department of the General Hospital, causing the death of newborn babies, and the bombing of the of the concession of the diocesan procuracy, destroying the windows of the new recently inaugurated building,” the bishop said in his January 27 statement.

“I deplore the looting, by the population and sometimes by the military, of some shops and warehouses. This exacerbates the already deplorable humanitarian situation,” he said.

In a January 25 interview with Vatican Radio, Ngumbi Ngengele implied the rebels have a clear objective: To suffocate Goma.

He said the encroachment of the rebels has already created “a lot of suffering for the population.”

“There are currently more than two and a half million people displaced by the war around the city of Goma,” the bishop said.

“This makes it difficult to distribute supplies, which can now only be supplied by imports from Rwanda. Meanwhile, the sounds of detonations, which are no longer very far away, can be heard in the city,” Ngumbi Ngengele said and added that a “psychosis has spread throughout the city.”

The Congolese military confirmed that the military governor of North Kivu, General Major Cirimwami Nkuba Peter, had been killed as the fighting intensified.

“This sad news has only increased the psychosis of the population” Ngumbi Ngengele said. He said some international bodies in the area have left because of the fighting, and many countries have evacuated their citizens from Goma.

Meanwhile, Congolese living in Goma are now surviving on their last supplies, in the elusive hope that the rebels would be forced to retreat.

“The  displaced are suffering greatly, as they no longer know where to go,” the bishop said.

“This is truly the tragedy that the population is living through,” he added.

Ngumbi Ngengele underscored the need for the tensions, particularly between the DRC and Rwanda, to cool down, given that people in Goma still have to depend on neighboring Rwanda for supplies.

“We are on the border with Rwanda, from where there is always the possibility of getting food,” he said.

“We want to live together in peace, as brothers, with the people of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi,” he added.

The bishop called on the international community for help, noting that the humanitarian situation in the region had deteriorated, with people dying ,not only from bullets but also as a result of hunger.

Ngumbi Ngengele called for a sense of unity among the people of Goma, insisting  “the great temptation in these circumstances is to seek to divide, to stigmatize one another. We must remain united, we must remain in fraternity.”

The capture of Goma marks another territorial victory for the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebel coalition, which encompasses the M23 armed group backed by Rwanda.

Goma’s fall increases the alliance’s control over large areas of eastern DR Congo, a region rich in rare minerals essential for manufacturing phones and computers, and is likely to exacerbate the long-standing humanitarian crisis in the area.

In his statement sent to Crux, Ngumbi Ngengele called on the warring parties and the population to show “absolute respect” for human life and for public and private infrastructure.

“I call on everyone to guarantee the protection of life, and access to basic services and to avoid sexual violence,” he said.

“At this grave hour, I assure the entire population of Goma of the closeness and compassion of the Catholic Church, feeling close, in a special way, to the wounded and the families of the victims,” the bishop continued.

“With this in mind, I urge the clergy and the consecrated, as well as the faithful and all people of good will, to kindly lend the necessary assistance to anyone in need,” he said.