For more than two years, the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri in eastern DRC have been living under a state of siege to stem the security problems in the region. However, this measure remains strongly criticized by the population who believe that nothing has changed, particularly in North Kivu where insecurity continues to grow with the resurgence of the M23 war, the persistence of ADF terrorism , among others.
Faced with this situation which continues to deteriorate, the Catholic Church is alarmed by the persistence of the state of siege and asks for its assessment for a possible lifting. In a press briefing organized on the occasion of the arrival in Goma of the Pope’s envoy, Luis Antonio Tagle, the Bishop of the Diocese of Goma, Msgr. Willy Ngumbi, reiterated the position of the Catholic Church by calling the authorities to assess the state of siege and to see if it really fulfills its mission.
According to the bishop, the state of siege could not meet the expectations of the populations and even worsened the security situation. Last week, fighting was reported in Rutshuru territory between self-defense groups (Wazalendo) and M23, while the Congolese army warned of the reinforcement of M23 terrorists by Rwandan soldiers in training in Chanzu and in Rwanda.
In addition, on the night of Thursday to Friday, an attack was perpetrated in Museya, in the territory of Beni, killing nine people and kidnapping several people. This continuing insecurity worries the Catholic Church, which calls on the government to take drastic measures to put an end to this situation.
In short, the eastern region of the DRC is plagued by growing insecurity which continues to worsen despite the state of siege in place for more than two years. The Catholic Church is asking for an evaluation of this measure for a possible lifting, because according to it, nothing has been resolved on the security level and the situation is only getting worse. It is therefore urgent that the authorities find a quick solution to bring peace and security to this region.