Attachments
FAST FACTS
- M23 reached the center of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, on Friday, February 14.
- After they occupied Goma—the capital city of North Kivu province in eastern DRC—on January 27,
M23 officials had declared a ceasefire on February 4. Attacks resumed a few days later, ultimately ending the ceasefire. - Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by this conflict. More than 1 million IDPs were already located in Goma and Minova, and attacks by M23 have left them with nowhere to go.
- Hospitals in Goma are already overwhelmed with people injured by the conflict. Healthcare staff, medical and surgical supplies, pharmaceuticals and blood for transfusions are critically limited.
- North Kivu has been plagued by conflict since the 1990s, with the first and second Congolese civil wars followed by decades of instability and violence.
- Fears of regional destabilization have risen due to the conflict, with, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda being implicated and affected by the war.
OUR RESPONSE
- International Medical Corps,with a base in Goma, has been responding in the DRC since 1999.
- We are deploying mobile medical units in Minova and Goma to provide immediate, lifesaving care to internally displaced persons and people affected by the conflict.
- We provide safe spaces and listening centers to survivors of violence, as well as protection and mental health services and support.