AFRICA/DR CONGO - “In Bukavu, young people are joining self-defense militias”

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "The situation in Bukavu is calm at the moment, but young people are flocking en masse to the recruitment centers of the self-defense groups of the so-called 'Wazalendo' militias," report Fides sources from the capital of the Congolese province of South Kivu, which is now also threatened by the advance of the rebel movement M23, after it has already taken Goma (capital of the province of North Kivu).
"The M23 seems to have stopped its advance on Bukavu," say the observers. "So we are living from day to day without really knowing what to expect. The army has also launched a campaign to recruit civilians to join self-defense groups. Many young people have answered the call of the authorities and are now strengthening the ranks of the so-called 'Wazalendo' militias." The observers report that "life is slowly recovering in Goma too. Electricity has returned to some neighborhoods and, since yesterday evening, internet connections have also been restored. Schools have reopened today, at least those that were not intended to accommodate displaced people." "As for the displaced people, the various refugee camps around the city have meanwhile been dismantled; those who were able to do so have returned to their places of origin; the others have been forced to take shelter in schools and other public buildings," the observers continue.
According to the Congolese Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), the health situation in the city is very serious. "Several health facilities are working beyond their capacity: there is a lack of beds, medicines, medical equipment, emergency kits, blood donations, fuel, surgical supplies and other equipment," says a report dated January 30, sent to Fides. "The morgues are overflowing (more than 770 lifeless bodies have already been collected, others are still scattered in the streets of the unsafe districts and are in an advanced stage of decomposition)". According to the report, 2,800 injured people are in the city's hospitals. Many of the injured remain at home without adequate medical care, while the risk of epidemics remains high.
At the political level, the Heads of State of the member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to continue to support the Democratic Republic of Congo in its efforts to preserve its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity" at the end of their extraordinary summit on 31 January in Harare (Zimbabwe). There is therefore a fear that the conflict will expand into a confrontation that goes beyond the Great Lakes region, as the President of Burundi explained in a video published on his YouTube channel: "If there is no peace in eastern Congo, there will be no peace in the region. The conflict does not only affect Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, but the entire region". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 3/2/2025)

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