December 18, 2025, 1:45 p.mDecember 18, 2025, 1:45 p.m
Heavy fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has once again forced thousands of people to flee, according to aid organizations.
People are fleeing in cars and motorcycles.Image: keystone
“The fighting in South Kivu has been extremely intense since this month,” says Valeria Caccavo from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team in Bukavu, the provincial capital of South Kivu.
“The ongoing armed conflicts in several areas of South Kivu continue to claim victims and force thousands of families who have lost everything to flee,” said the ICRC in Geneva. More than 100 civilians with gunshot wounds have been treated in ICRC-supported hospitals in South Kivu province since the beginning of December.
Fighting has been going on in the resource-rich region in the east of the DRC for more than 30 years. The M23 rebel militia captured the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu at the beginning of the year, drove out Congolese government troops and has since taken control of important mines in the provinces of North and South Kivu.
It is estimated that almost 500,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of December. Image: keystone
It was only at the beginning of December that a peace agreement in the conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Rwanda was signed in Washington in the presence of US President Donald Trump. According to UN experts, Rwanda supports the M23 militia. The USA initiated the peace talks to bring an end to the violence in eastern Congo. Trump announced that the US would sign bilateral agreements on rare earth mining with both countries.
500,000 newly displaced people in the province
The ICRC is not involved in peace negotiations, but emphasizes its strictly neutral and humanitarian role. It is negotiating security guarantees with all parties to the conflict in order to evacuate wounded people from the front lines. Caccavo did not comment on the peace efforts. The ICRC only sees the many wounded. Regarding the fighting, she said: “It is clear that they are not over.” The United Nations estimates that nearly 500,000 people have been displaced in South Kivu since the beginning of December. (sda/dpa)