The Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly its eastern regions, has been subject to conflict for decades. Violence between local militia and foreign rebel groups has led to widespread displacement and instability. According to the Vatican’s Fides News Agency, reporting from Kinshasa, the Bishops’ Conference of the Democratic Republic of Congo (CENCO) has called for peace and the implementation of the ceasefire signed in Luanda, Angola on July 30.
The agreement, signed by the governments of Congo and Rwanda, called for a ceasefire to be put into effect at midnight on August 4. However, the bishops said they were concerned that this new ceasefire might not be respected. They said that “all previous agreements have been violated without effort and the various reports on this have not led to any sanctions.”
This prompted the bishops to intervene, expressing their condemnation and insisting on the need for both parties to respect the agreement.
CENCO highlighted the need to raise global awareness of the conflict in this region, comparing its importance to that of the Russo-Ukraine war.
This is a conflict with severe consequences on the local population, including the displacement of 1.7 million people, according to the UN, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons in Congo to over 7 million.
UNICEF representative Grant Leaity says hundreds of thousands of children are prevented from attending schools and are being forced to flee their homes because of the violence.