Bombing of the Mugunga Displaced Persons Camp: The CENCO calls on the African Union and the United Nations to expedite an investigation to establish responsibilities.

The Catholic bishops of the DRC are calling on the African Union and the United Nations to launch an independent investigation to establish responsibilities following the bombing of the displaced persons camp at Mugunga on the outskirts of Goma in the North Kivu province. 

"The Bishops, members of the CENCO, have followed with much emotion and indignation the bombing by unidentified assailants to this day, of the Mugunga camp on the outskirts of the city of GOMA, causing dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. They ask the African Union and the United Nations to initiate an independent investigation to establish responsibilities," they wrote in a statement dated Monday, May 6. While condemning the resolution of conflicts through violence, the Congolese bishops invite the M23 rebels to lay down their arms. 

For, they believe that Congolese cannot claim to save Congo by killing Congolese. "The Bishops, members of the CENCO, condemn with the utmost energy this barbarity that constitutes a denial of humanity and remind its authors that human life is sacred and belongs to God who will not leave them unpunished. They also condemn the resolution of conflicts through violence and invite the M23 rebels to lay down their arms, for Congolese cannot claim to save Congo by killing Congolese. They ask Rwanda to stop its support of the rebellion," they write. 

CONDEMNATION BY THE NATIONAL EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF CONGO (CENCO) FOLLOWING THE KILLING OF OUR COMPATRIOTS IN GOMA, FRIDAY 03/05/2024 

1. The Bishops, members of the CENCO, have followed with much emotion and indignation the bombing by unidentified inciviques to this date, of the Mugunga camp on the outskirts of the city of GOMA, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. They ask the African Union and the United Nations to carry out an independent investigation to establish responsibilities, and to bring the various stakeholders involved in this conflict, which has already resulted in many deaths, to immediately stop the war. 

2. It is hard to understand that the rebels of the M23 supported by the Rwandan army and the loyalist forces of the FARDC, who are confronting each other, choose to position themselves around a displaced persons' camp that has existed for years, permanently exposing poor people who already live as outcasts. It is also surprising that this tragedy occurs at the doorstep of GOMA, a highly militarized city where many indications were given, inviting the competent authorities to be on maximum alert to secure the population. 

3. The Bishops, members of the CENCO, condemn with the utmost energy this barbarity that constitutes a denial of humanity and remind its authors that human life is sacred and belongs to God who will not leave them unpunished. They also condemn the resolution of conflicts through violence and invite the M23 rebels to lay down their arms, for Congolese cannot claim to save Congo by killing Congolese. They ask Rwanda to stop its support of the rebellion. 

4. The CENCO extends its condolences to the biological families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy, to His Excellency Mgr Willy NGUMBI, and to the entire Church family of God that is in GOMA. It reassures the injured of its prayers for them to find comfort and healing from the Lord. 

5. It invites the central Government, whose good faith and concern to put an end to this situation it recognizes, to firmness and effectiveness so as not to continue to let its population be killed with impunity, merely settling for half-hearted and uncommitted condemnations. The population, already a victim of this imposed war, no longer knows to which saint to pray. 

6. The Bishops, members of the CENCO, ask the competent authorities to evaluate without complacency all that the country has sacrificed and the means it has deployed, through the state of siege, in relation to the result that has been reached. 

7. This is an opportunity for the Bishops to reiterate the pertinent recommendation of the CENCO, often repeated, asking for a consultation of the representatives of the vital forces of the country, beyond political divides, in order to create a strong national dynamic to come together to an acceptable solution. This, the Bishops believe, is extremely urgent. 

8. May the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Congo, intercede for us with her Son, the Prince of Peace, in this troubling moment of our history. 

Kinshasa, May 6, 2024 

Boni Tsala