Christian charity World Vision has called upon the international community to protect children and other vulnerable people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following advances by the rebel M23 group.
M23 have claimed control of the eastern city of Goma, although government forces claim that they still control the airport. Many civilians fleeing violence in other parts of the country have previously taken shelter in the city of Goma.
According to World Vision, the DRC has more internally displaced people than any other country in the world, at over 6.9 million. Half of these displaced people are children, who struggle to find food, shelter and healthcare. As well as poverty, many are at risk of, or have already experienced violence, artillery bombardments and sexual violence.
Aline Napon, World Vision's DRC National Director said, "World Vision in on the ground and is supporting thousands of people who have run towards Goma to escape conflict. On the faces of these women, children and men, we see despair, fear, rage and powerlessness.
"They have been forced to leave their homes without knowing where they are going to stay or what they are going to eat. In short, they are fleeing simply to save their lives. Many of these displaced people are children. These children are experiencing atrocities that even grown-ups find hard to bear. These children, these women, these displaced people, need our help."
M23 is allegedly backed by Rwanda, something that has neither been admitted nor denied by DRC's eastern neighbour. Rwanda in turn has also accused the DRC of supporting anti-government militias in its own territory and of harbouring fugitives responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The Rwandan genocide saw well over half a million people killed, most from the Tutsi ethnic group, in the space of just four months of brutal violence carried out by Hutu militias. M23 was formed to defend Tutsis in eastern Congo from human rights abuses, however the group has also been accused of various war crimes and abuses itself.
A spokesman for United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has called on Rwanda to end its support for M23 and withdraw its own troops from DRC territory. The Kenyan government has called for a ceasefire in the conflict and has said that the leaders of DRC and Rwanda will be joining an emergency summit in the next two days in the hopes of resolving the conflict peacefully.
Napon, World Vision's representative made a final appeal to the internation community, not to forget about the DRC and its people at a time when the suffering in Ukraine and Gaza dominates the headlines.
"There is very little about this ongoing humanitarian catastrophe online or in the media. The lives of the children of DRC are just as precious as the lives of children from every other country. We are begging the international community to hear their cries and act quickly," she said.
"World Vision urges all parties to the conflict to protect innocent civilians and provide safe and unhindered humanitarian access. Governments, humanitarian agencies and local communities must work together to meet the urgent needs of women, children and men. They have endured enough; they have lost enough. They deserve peace, they deserve safety, and they deserve hope. Let's do everything in our power to deliver it for them."
