Rwandan forces and the abusive M23 armed group should urgently ensure access to and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said today. Recent fighting and the shelling of medical infrastructure in the city, which the M23 captured on January 27, 2025, has severely limited aid to those in need.
The Rwanda Defence Force and M23 occupying Goma should immediately ensure that civilians, including displaced people, are not denied access to items essential for their survival, such as water, food, and medicine. The occupying forces should also facilitate safe passage to areas under control of Congolese forces for civilians who choose to leave the city.
"Rwandan and M23 forces need to urgently address the humanitarian catastrophe after hundreds of thousands of displaced people who had fled the fighting in recent weeks arrived in Goma," said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "All the warring parties need to ensure that people have access to food and medical care and that aid workers are able to move freely to deliver assistance."
The M23 and Rwandan forces were opposed by the Congolese armed forces (Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo) and a coalition of abusive militias known as "Wazalendo" ("patriots" in Swahili), as well as United Nations peacekeepers and Southern African forces that were deployed to block the M23's advance.
Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, normally has over one million residents and already had housed over a half a million displaced people before the most recent fighting and the arrival of thousands more, according to the UN. The fighting in Goma has interrupted activities by humanitarian agencies and organizations, including those providing essential aid to displaced and vulnerable populations across North and South Kivu provinces.
The extent of the damage and harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure caused by the shelling and exchange of gunfire inside Goma during the M23's offensive, between January 26 and 29, is still unclear. The death toll in Goma remains unknown. At least 2,800 people were injured and 700 killed in the fighting in recent days, according to the UN.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said that about half of the patients treated since early January were women and children. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said bombs fell on at least three camps for displaced people between January 20 and 23 and abuses against displaced people had escalated, including killings, violence, kidnappings, and arbitrary arrests.
The humanitarian situation may worsen with the M23's forced dismantling of displacement camps, Human Rights Watch said. In the South Kivu town of Minova, about 40 kilometers from Goma, the M23 dismantled displacement camps and evicted the camp residents. A source in Minova told Human Rights Watch that the M23 told residents not to expect further support and to return home.
Most displacement camps around Goma have partially or fully emptied, and it is unclear whether the more than half a million people who had been living in the camps will have access to further humanitarian aid. Rwandan and M23 forces should ensure that no displaced people are forcibly returned to a place where they would be at risk, Human Rights Watch said.
The humanitarian medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said that it was treating many victims of gunshot wounds and injuries related to shelling, and that its medical supplies were looted and a bullet passed through its operating room on January 29. Human Rights Watch received information indicating that two other hospitals, the Hôpital Charité, in downtown Goma, and the Hôpital Général de Référence Virunga, in the northeastern part of the city, were fired upon in the fighting. It is not clear if the hospitals were targeted.
Goma's airport was closed after the M23 took control of the city, cutting off Goma from new supplies of critical aid. On January 28, unidentified assailants looted a warehouse holding humanitarian supplies, according to the UN.
Food prices have risen across Goma as food has become scarce. One resident said he had to walk 10 kilometers and cross the border into Rwanda to buy basic supplies. Water and electricity were cut off in the city on January 27. The UN reported that residents of Goma resorted to drinking untreated water from Lake Kivu until January 30, when drinking water was partially restored. Electricity was also partially restored that same day.
Under international humanitarian law applicable to the armed conflict in eastern Congo, all parties to the conflict, including nonstate armed groups, are obligated to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid to civilians in need. They must respect and protect aid workers, warehouses, and other objects used for relief operations.
The UN, regional bodies, and donors should press the Rwandan government and the M23 to ensure the health and well-being of the population in territory they control, in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law, Human Rights Watch said. They should urge all warring parties to facilitate access to those providing humanitarian support.
"The humanitarian situation in Goma has grown increasingly dire for hundreds of thousands of people since the Rwanda-backed M23 have taken control of the city," Mudge said. "The UN and concerned governments need to pressure these forces to ensure that lifesaving aid reaches all those at risk."
