A hard Christmas in North Kivu: “Many people are fleeing their villages,” says missionary in Congo 

Father Marcelo Oliveira accuses neighboring countries of instigating the violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where rebel groups did not even respect a Christmas truce.

Christmas was a difficult time for the people of North Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They have been filled with constant fear and anguish because of armed groups that are active near the border with Rwanda. In a message to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a Portuguese Comboni missionary accuses the militias of “wanting to massacre the population, to take control of the land and steel the natural resources.” 

Father Marcelo Oliveira has been in the country for several years. He speaks of massacres and of a population on the run. “Many people are fleeing. Some of these communities have become ghost-villages, and people cannot get what they need,” he wrote to ACN.  

The priest blames one of the armed groups in particular: M23 – whose rebels, according to multiple sources, are said to be supported by Rwanda – who “continue to massacre and torture the people who are going from place to place.” 

The neighboring country of Angola has been trying to broker a peace deal, but unfortunately, this has not been successful. The missionary believes that Rwanda is boycotting the peace summits on purpose. “The last meeting should have been on December 15th, but it was canceled because Rwanda did not want to take part. It always looks for reasons not to participate, and that way, the war goes on indefinitely,” regrets Father Oliveira.  

Every day, there is news of people on the run, and of women and children being mistreated. A constant state of anxiety that was not even halted for Christmas, a time which is generally respected as being of peace. “Christmas is normally the period of tranquility, peace, joy, and fraternity, of family, but for these people, it was a very difficult time, a time of anguish, of not knowing where to stay, of being on the run, of being scared because of the lack of political will to change the situation. The problem does not lie with the people, but with Rwanda, which continues to want to massacre the Congolese population, to take control of the land and steal the rich natural resources.” 

It is estimated that about 1.7 million people are displaced in North Kivu, and over seven million people in the whole country, because of armed conflicts.  

ACN maintains a very active presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2023, the charity funded 251 projects in 42 of the country’s 48 dioceses, particularly in the most neglected regions. Much of this support went to religious formation, not only of clergy, but also of seminarians, as well as subsistence aid for priests, especially through Mass stipends.