Thousands of displaced people are stranded in eastern Congo as rebels are accused of forced return

A child displaced by the fighting between M23 rebels and government soldiers holds a damaged helmet at the camp in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Rwanda-backed rebels controlling cities in eastern Congo have forcibly closed settlement camps, leading to the displacement of more than 110,000 people in recent days, the U.N. and locals said Tuesday.

The M23 rebels — the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east — captured Goma, the region’s largest city in late January in a major escalation of the yearslong fighting with government forces. The rebels' advance into Goma has killed at least 2,000 people in and around the city, Congolese authorities have said.

M23 issued a 72-hour ultimatum to displaced people to leave settlement camps and return to their villages, the U.N.’s humanitarian aid coordination agency, OCHA, said in its briefing on Tuesday. It was the latest action taken by the rebels after they said their priority was to restart normal activities in the city.

Though the rebels later clarified that returns should be voluntary, OCHA said more than 110,000 displaced people have left such camps for distant villages that aid groups have warned are further afar from the reach of aid.

Associated Press journalists witnessed many displaced families in settlement camps in Goma dismantling makeshift shelters and packing up what was left of their belongings.

“I am surprised because we are asked to leave, yet I have nothing to give to the children,” said Sibomana Safari, who was leaving Bulengo displacement camp in the city. “We all (are) leaving without any help (and) I don’t know if we’re going to make it,” said Safari.

At least 500,000 people have been displaced in the region following the M23’s advance, according to the Forum of International Non-Governmental Organisations. Goma was hosting close to a million displaced people before the escalation of fighting on Feb. 26.

“The situation is extremely worrying,” said Oonagh Curry, an emergency coordinator for French medical charity Doctors Without Borders, or MSF. “The current situation is very fluid. It is extremely important to keep in mind that a sudden movement of a population can worsen the humanitarian crisis that was already underway,” Curry added.

Kwimana Sifa, among those leaving the Bulengo displacement camp, said he had no place to go after his house was destroyed by a bomb.

“It is better to leave us here. Although we lack food, we have shelter here,” a distraught Sifa said. “What we want is just peace and nothing else.”

Although the rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire last week, locals continue to report pockets of fighting between M23 and government forces as the rebels move towards South Kivu’s provincial capital of Bukavu.

The rebels on Tuesday threatened to act over killings it said were happening in Bukavu which is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from their reach.

“The situation in Bukavu is deteriorating dangerously. Our compatriots are continually being killed,” M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said on X. “If these crimes persist, we will take our responsibilities to eradicate the threat at its source and protect our people,” he added.

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.