Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels took control on Nov. 20 of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Amnesty International called on all sides of the escalating conflict to take steps to safeguard civilians. Thousands fled the besieged city and rapes have been reported as rebels promised to advance on Bukavu and ultimately Kinshasa, determined to depose Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila. A missionary source in Goma reports, “The population feels betrayed and abandoned by the government” and the U.N. mission forces. U.N. forces did not intervene after government troops fled or turned over their weapons to the rebels. The humanitarian and security situation has deteriorated dramatically since fighting between M23 and the Congolese army resumed on Nov. 15. Since the M23 was created in April 2012, Amnesty International has documented numerous human rights abuses attributed to its fighters, including unlawful killings, forced recruitment of children and young adults and rape.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

The 12 women whose feet were washed by Pope Francis included women from Italy, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Peru, Venezuela and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"We, the members of the Society of Jesus, continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other territories in Israel/Palestine, spilling over into the surrounding countries of the Middle East."
The Society of JesusMarch 28, 2024
A child wounded in an I.D.F. bombardment is brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on March 25. (AP Photo/Ismael abu dayyah)
While some children have been evacuated from conflict, more than 1.1 million children in Gaza and 3.7 million in Haiti have been left behind to face the rampaging adult world around them.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2024
Easter will not be postponed this year. It will not wait until the war is over. It is precisely now, in our darkest hour, that resurrection finds us.
Stephanie SaldañaMarch 28, 2024