The state of siege has been deployed for more than two years in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its objective was to resolve the security problems in this region, which faces significant challenges in terms of insecurity.
However, criticisms abound from the population as to the relevance of this measure. Indeed, insecurity continues to escalate at an alarming rate with the resurgence of the M23 war, the persistence of ADF terrorism as well as other troubles relating to the growth of vigilante groups.
The Catholic Church, for its part, spoke through its Bishop Willy Ngumbi, who recalled during a press briefing organized in Goma on the occasion of the arrival of the Pope’s envoy, Luis Antonio Tagle, his concern about the state of siege and expressed his wish to see the state of siege evaluated with the eventual goal of lifting it. For the Catholic Church, nothing has changed in terms of security, and the state of siege fails to fulfill its mission.
Recent events seem to support this analysis, with a new attack in Museya in which nine civilians were killed, one injured and several kidnapped. At the same time, fighting was reported in Rutshuru territory between self-defense groups and the M23, and the Congolese army called for vigilance against the reinforcement of M23 terrorists by Rwandan soldiers in training in Chanzu and in Rwanda.
Faced with this situation, the lifting of the state of siege does not seem to be a solution to consider in the short term, especially since the measures follow one another to try to restore security in the region. The Congolese authorities will therefore have to redouble their efforts to provide an adequate response to the security crisis in the region.