‘I curse this war’: hunger and fear after rebel takeover

Ruth Alonga, Carlos Mureithi

People living in Goma on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern border with Rwanda have spoken of their fear and acute hunger after the M23 rebel group swept into the city last week. “We are very afraid. This situation feels hopeless,” said Judith Saima, a 28-year-old merchant in Goma, where heavy fighting that cut the city off from the outside world and left bodies piling up in the streets only subsided last Wednesday. Access to food is a significant concern, after trade and agricultural supply routes were severed. “If this continues, we will all die, either from stray bullets or starvation,” said 26-year-old Ngise Ngeleka, a student living in the ULPG neighbourhood. Ngeleka said her neighbour had been hit by a bullet at the beginning of the week and…

You're reading a preview of

Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 7 February 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.