Red Cross envoy: Congo conflict has worsened with sharp increases in sexual violence and wounded

FILE -Thousands who are fleeing the ongoing conflict between government forces and M-23 rebels reach the entrance the Democratic Republic of Congo eastern city of Goma, Feb. 7, 2024. The decades-old conflict in Congos mineral-rich east has drastically deteriorated since early 2022 and gotten even worse since last October, with sharp increases in sexual violence, the number of wounded and child recruitment, the top Red Cross official in the country said Wednesday.

He said another escalating indicator is the level of sexual violence. In Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, he said the number of incidents of sexual violence in the first half of 2024 rose 90% compared with 2023 — from 7,500 incidents last year to around 15,000 this year. The ICRC has also witnessed an increase in child recruitment, with estimates that it's increased roughly 80% in some areas. “That could be only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Last year, Moreillon said, 1,050 cases were treated at the Goma hospital, and just in February this year the ICRC treated 350 cases — a third of last year’s caseload in just one month.The ICRC head in Congo said what has changed is that more sophisticated weapons are being used combined with increased fighting in crowded urban settings.

Felix Tshisekedi

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