3/7/2025 DRC (International Christian Concern) — As the years-long unrest in central Africa’s DRC continues to escalate, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced from their homes, according to new statements from Patrick Eba, deputy director of UNHCR’s Division of International Protection.
“Near the frontlines, sexual violence and human rights abuses remain rampant, as is the looting and destruction of civilian homes and businesses,” he said in a recent public statement.
The conflict is particularly severe in the country’s northeastern regions, where the Rwanda-backed militant group M23 has seen significant territorial gains in recent months. Of the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, nearly 80,000 have fled across DRC’s borders into neighboring countries, including 61,000 to Burundi, to Rwanda’s south, in a mass exodus that has overwhelmed the small country’s limited resources for dealing with refugees.
M23 has seized multiple cities since January, including Goma, a major regional hub and the capital of North Kivu province. In response, the U.S. sanctioned a Rwandan government official, and another individual associated with M23 in the DRC.
Though Rwanda denies supporting M23, years of mounting evidence has proved that Rwanda is deeply involved in supporting the group’s activities.
As the violence grows, concerning statistics continue to mount. In the last two weeks of February alone, the UNHCR recorded 895 cases of rape or an average of more than 60 per day. Of the 414,000 people estimated to be displaced in North and South Kivu, only 17,000 are being cared for in sites for internally displaced persons.
In February, local sources revealed the massacre of 70 Christians in DRC’s eastern Lubero Territory near the country’s border with Uganda and Rwanda. Early reports indicated that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were responsible.
Members of the militia reportedly detained many Christian villagers before tying them up in a local protestant church and decapitating them with machetes.
Responding to ADF attacks in January, pastors in North Kivu province told International Christian Concern (ICC) that the violence often targets Christians and has decimated churches.
“We are no longer talking about simple violence,” one pastor said. “We are losing fellow innocent Christians time and again. Our churches are now remaining empty … the people of the Lord are suffering, and it’s just not bearable to watch.”
The ADF is one of many African terrorist organizations aligned with the jihadist Islamic State movement and stands out among the country’s 120 militant groups for its brutal tactics and explicit animosity toward Christianity.
U.N. peacekeepers in the country are working to protect hundreds of thousands of displaced persons but have experienced increasing difficulty in executing their mission in recent weeks because of rebel advances.
The U.N. mission has become increasingly unpopular with Congolese government leaders in recent years. In December 2023, the U.N. Security Council approved the withdrawal after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi requested a fast-tracked withdrawal some months earlier.
The U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, began to pull out of the country in February 2024. MONUSCO has worked in the country for more than 13 years and before the drawdown boasted nearly 18,000 personnel including about 14,000 armed troops. Recent terrorist victories seem to be partially a result of the power vacuum left by the forced U.N. withdrawal.
The first phase of withdrawal was focused on bases in South Kivu province, with U.N. troops leaving Ituri and North Kivu province, where the violence is concentrated, later in 2024.
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