DRC: Bishops call for ceasefire agreement to be respected

By Francesco Bartolini

The Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly its eastern regions, has been subject to conflict for decades. Violence between local militia and foreign rebel groups has led to widespread displacement and instability.

According to the Vatican’s Fides News Agency, reporting from Kinshasa, the Bishops’ Conference of the Democratic Republic of Congo (CENCO) has called for peace and the implementation of the ceasefire signed in Luanda, Angola on July 30.

The ceasefire deal

The agreement, signed by the governments of Congo and Rwanda, called for a ceasefire to be put into effect at midnight on August 4.

However, the bishops said they were concerned that this new ceasefire might not be respected. They said that “all previous agreements have been violated without effort and the various reports on this have not led to any sanctions.”

Agreement broken

Reports say rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23), known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, were seen on Wednesday advancing on the regions of Nyamilima and Ishasha, only three days into the ceasefire.

In particular, the mineral-rich province of North Kivu, on the eastern border with Rwanda, has experienced major conflict and disputes as M23 rebels continue to take over land within the region.

Moreover, the United Nations previously reported almost 4,000 Rwandan troops deployed by the government to operate alongside M23, which in theory violates the territorial integrity of DRC.

Severe humanitarian consequences

This prompted the bishops to intervene, expressing their condemnation and insisting on the need for both parties to respect the agreement.

CENCO highlighted the need to raise global awareness of the conflict in this region, comparing its importance to that of the Russo-Ukraine war.

This is a conflict with severe consequences on the local population, including the displacement of 1.7 million people, according to the UN, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons in Congo to over 7 million.

UNICEF representative Grant Leaity says hundreds of thousands of children are prevented from attending schools and are being forced to flee their homes because of the violence.