Goma Stories

Behind rebel lines: My 72-hour journey with M23 through Goma
Amina Wako  |  Jun 15, 2025

I expected ruin. Collapsed buildings. Blackened rubble. Bullet-scarred walls. Shell craters and twisted steel. I imagined a landscape frozen in grief,...

Senate committee chair steps down after he’s accused of bias in Natembeya audit hearing
Lucy Mumbi  |  Jun 05, 2025

The dramatic moment unfolded during the Senate Agriculture, Blue Economy and Livestock Committee session on Thursday, when Governor Natembeya tabled a...

UN urges DRC to take responsibility as over 7 million displaced amid escalating crisis
Rachael Mutabasi  |  Jun 03, 2025

The UN warned that displaced populations were facing widespread human rights violations, including murder, summary executions, sexual and gender-based...

Former Congolese President Kabila meets religious leaders in eastern DR Congo
The New Times  |  May 29, 2025

His return to Goma comes barely two days after he accused President Felix Tshisekedi’s government for populism, lies, arrogance, institutionalisation...

Ex-DRC president Kabila reportedly arrives in rebel-held Goma amid M23 crisis, rising tensions
Reuters  |  May 28, 2025

The reported visit follows a vote in the Senate in Kinshasa last week, overwhelmingly in favour of lifting Kabila's immunity from prosecution over his...

M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa defends ties to DRC ex-president Kabila amid treason allegations
Amina Wako  |  May 26, 2025

Bisimwa emphasised that Kabila, like any other Congolese citizen, has the right to associate with opposition movements and should be respected for his...

DRC conflict: M23 rejects UN claims on worsening Goma situation
Bashir Mbuthia  |  May 25, 2025

Further, the AFC maintained that before M23 took control of Goma, the city was plagued by severe insecurity and humanitarian crises, with civilians tr...

Sexual violence surges 700pc in eastern DRC as armed conflict intensifies – ActionAid
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  May 17, 2025

ActionAid says the dismantling of these camps by armed groups has increased the risks faced by women and girls, who are often sent back to dangerous a...

Fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is worsening gender-based violence against women
The Conversation  |  May 09, 2025

Civilians are caught in a devastating humanitarian crisis involving sexual and gender-based violence. This kind of violence not only contributes to fo...

In Congo, M23 rebels’ latest fight is to revive the economy
Reuters  |  May 04, 2025

Virtually all banks are closed. Currency shortages abound. With supply chains disrupted, prices of some staples have jumped.

Returning farmers face land disputes, hardship in rebel-held eastern DR Congo
Reuters  |  May 03, 2025

Many had little choice after M23 dismantled displacement camps upon seizing Goma, eastern DR Congo's largest city, in late January.

Red Cross begins evacuation of DRC soldiers from UN base in Goma
Mary Wambui  |  Apr 30, 2025

The exit of the soldiers comes a day after the SADC mission began its exit from Goma, a move that began quietly early Tuesday morning before it was co...

Clashes hit rebel-controlled Goma, largest city in east Congo
Reuters  |  Apr 13, 2025

The toll from the clashes was not immediately clear. A government statement on Saturday night said 52 people had been killed in and around Goma, thoug...

DRC and Rwanda presidents agree to a ceasefire in eastern Congo during Qatar talks
Reuters  |  Mar 18, 2025

At Tuesday's meeting in Qatar, Tshisekedi and Kagame "agreed on the need to continue the discussions initiated in Doha in order to establish solid fou...

Goma residents express frustrations after M23 refuses to join Angola-led talks
Mary Wambui  |  Mar 18, 2025

Many residents of Goma expressed confusion over what they saw as the rebel group's disproportionate response to European sanctions.

Joint EAC-SADC ministers meeting calls for the reopening Goma, Kavumu airports in eastern DRC
Mary Wambui  |  Mar 18, 2025

According to their joint communique, the opening of the two airports in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces will facilitate the withdrawal of SADC tro...

EAC, SADC ministers meet in Harare to discuss escalating crisis in eastern DRC
Mwangi Maina  |  Mar 17, 2025

One of the key issue that will be discussed is the appointment of the three co-facilitators named by President William Ruto to push the peace processe...

Clashes continue in eastern DR Congo days after attack on civilians left many dead
Reuters  |  Mar 10, 2025

The M23 rebel group, believed to be backed by Rwanda, has seized swathes of mineral-rich eastern Congo since the start of the year.

Schools shut in DR Congo’s North Kivu as conflict disrupts learning for 375,000 children
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Mar 08, 2025

A report from the DRC Education Cluster, which includes Save the Children on Friday, reveals that school attendance has plummeted due to intensified f...

Why situation in eastern DR Congo has reached dangerous phase
Mary Wambui  |  Mar 01, 2025

Reports indicate that the M23 has expanded its control of mining sites in the region thereby increasing its monthly taxes.

Britain to pause bilateral aid to Rwanda over role DR Congo conflict
Reuters  |  Feb 25, 2025

Britain said it would also coordinate with partners on potential new sanctions and suspend future defence training assistance to Rwanda.

Children face lethal violence, rape in east Congo war
Reuters  |  Feb 25, 2025

The United Nations has warned of surging child recruitment, abductions, killings and sexual violence as the rebels, known as M23, press on after seizi...

Uhuru appointed to co-facilitate merged Nairobi-Luanda peace processes on DRC conflict
Mary Wambui  |  Feb 24, 2025

The other facilitators are Nigeria's former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Ethiopia's former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Rebel-held ports in eastern DR Congo re-open as humanitarian aid needs grow
Reuters  |  Feb 18, 2025

A passenger boat from Bukavu to Goma left on Tuesday morning, operator Lweni Ndale said, adding it was the first he had sent since late January, short...

DR Congo M23 rebels say they have entered Bukavu after seizing Kavumu airport
Reuters  |  Feb 15, 2025

The Congolese army confirmed that M23 fighters had taken control of Kavumu airport, north of Bukavu, and that Congolese troops had pulled back with th...

Conflicts in DRC and Sudan expected to overshadow deliberations at African Union summit
DW News  |  Feb 15, 2025

African Union analyst Emmanuel Bensah told DW from Accra, Ghana, that it is crucial that African leaders attending the summit in Addis present concret...

DRC Conflict: MSF calls for safe and voluntary return for displaced Goma residents
Mary Wambui  |  Feb 13, 2025

Some displaced individuals reported receiving evacuation orders, while others claimed they had been advised against leaving. Many, having endured year...

M23 backs Dar es Salaam summit resolutions, calls for dialogue in DRC crisis
Lucy Mumbi  |  Feb 12, 2025

It dismissed claims that the city had been taken over by 150 armed groups, stating instead that “Goma and its surrounding areas have been liberated an...

Congo's Bukavu under threat as M23 rebels warn of intervention
Reuters  |  Feb 11, 2025

Heavy shelling was reported along the frontline on Tuesday morning, rebel, military and local sources told Reuters.

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