Joseph Amadomon Sagara, MD

Project coordinator, MSF

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

I am currently in Goma. This week, panic swept through the internally displaced people [IDP] camps on the outskirts of the city, due to clashes very close by. Some displaced people took everything they could, luggage on their heads, children in their arms, and headed towards Goma to take shelter.

Today, we are facing a very tense situation.

In recent days, the front line has gradually moved closer to the outskirts of Goma, where the IDP camps are located. This week, fighting took place in Sake and Nzulo, which are only 12 kilometres from the IDP sites, west of the city of Goma.

For some time, there has been a resurgence of fighting between the Congolese Armed Forces, the M23 armed group and their respective allies, in the Masisi and Lubero territories, in North Kivu. South Kivu province is also being impacted by these clashes.

There has also been an influx of war wounded. The [Ndosho] hospital supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross is overwhelmed, so MSF is supporting at the Kyeshero hospital in Goma. Yesterday, we received 12 patients, including two children. One with a head wound. The other with a fracture.

Many people arrived in Goma from Masisi, Sake and Nzulo, in North Kivu, and from Minova and the Kalehe territory in South Kivu, either by land or across Lake Kivu, under very difficult conditions.

For three years, IDP camps have formed around the city of Goma. People fleeing the fighting in the region have found themselves stuck there.

They have nowhere to go. There are more than 600,000 people crammed together there. These camps are overcrowded and living conditions are extremely precarious: fragile tents with little access to food, water and healthcare.

The presence of heavy weapons belonging to the Congolese Armed Forces near the camps, and the exchange of fire between the armed groups creates a feeling of terror among the displaced.

In May 2024, rockets had already fallen on the camps, injuring and killing several people.

All belligerents must ensure the protection of civilians in the IDP camps by avoiding the positioning of armed factions near the camps where thousands of already displaced women, men and children are taking refuge.