Five months after taking Goma, the heavy price paid by the civilian population – rts.ch

Since the rebels of the M23, supported by Rwanda, conquered Goma on January 26, the city lives in idle. Moreover, Five months later, the local economy is bloodless. Consequently, The closure of the airport and banks by the central government has paralyzed trade. Meanwhile, “We are no longer sold as before. Moreover, There is only war, only shots,” deplores with the RTS a merchant from a city market. Moreover, “Before, we could send beans to Kinshasa. Nevertheless, But now life has become difficult, there is no money.”

In the peripheral districts, crime explodes: “We had burglars who came to us. However, They threatened and struck us. Consequently, We were three girls, five months after taking goma, me and my little sisters. And unfortunately, they went so far as to rape us,” said a resident in a vocal note.

The whole population denounces a growing insecurity: “Young people spend the night outside. awake to put up guard,” said a resident in the Lac Vert district, west of Goma, where two people were recently killed in their house, pushing neighbors and neighbors to flee.

Arbitrary roundups and disappearances – Five months after taking goma,

In an attempt to regain control, the rebel authorities multiply the rating operations in the neighborhoods. Officially. it is a question of tracking down the military and militiamen who would have refused to surrender and the opportunistic bandits who recovered the abandoned weapons. In reality, these roundups often target civilian people. “They came early in the morning. They took my husband and two sons (…) they just returned but some neighbors are still detained,” said a resident.

The arbitrary arrests often target young men: five months after taking goma, “They have embarked more than 80 young people. Two were killed. We do not know when the others return,” said another witness. A blind hunt. in which dozens, even hundreds of men are arrested every week, at home, or in the street, and taken for rather arbitrary checks.

A tattoo, dreadlocks, a stripped outfit can make you a suspect. Like these men exhibited last month in front of the press in the stadium of Goma. In front of the entrance, a mother is still looking for her son. “It’s been two weeks since he got out of the house without going back. Until today, I can’t find him. He is five months after taking goma, 16 years old. Sometimes we take away the children, at night, in the patrols (…) I asked, I was told that he is not there. But we don’t know where to look for children.”

Human rights organizations and civil society denounce repeated abuses: disappearances, tortures, arbitrary detentions, and even cases of forced enrollment. Goma. today, is only a rebellious bastion under tension, where the population survives in anxiety, forgotten by the peace agreement signed in Washington.

Radio reportage: Patricia Huon

Adaptation web: ther