A bishop from eastern Congo said people in the area continue to
suffer from an ongoing government-rebel conflict, and he hoped pressure
from the international community would help relieve the situation.
Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Kindu, Congo, said that people in and around North Kivu and Goma were the worst hit.
“People there suffer from lack of food, shelter and clothes.” he
said, before adding that the Church’s aid agency, Caritas
Internationalis, was helping victims, “and we thank God for this.”
The bishop said he hoped current concern expressed by the
international community would help bring change. He said he believed
peace negotiations and not guns would help bring about peace.
Bishop Ngumbi was speaking before members of the International
Conference on the Great Lakes Region met with United Nations (UN)
officials in Kampala, Uganda, last week to discuss the situation in
Congo.
In late August, Congolese troops, backed by a special UN force,
launched a fresh assault against the M23 rebel movement in North Kivu.
After the meeting, rebel representatives agreed to meet with
government leaders in Uganda.
In the past, conflict in eastern Congo,
known for fertile lands and valuable minerals, has dragged regional
powers into the fighting, with both Rwanda and Uganda accused of backing
the M23, claims they deny.
Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe have backed the
government.
According to the United Nations, in the past year, fighting has
displaced more than 100,000 people, bringing the total of internally
displaced Congolese to 2.6 million.
The UN said 6.4 million need food
and emergency aid.