蜜桃交友

Fabrice Bagendekere, SJ – Vatican City.

A battlefield has emerged in Goma as some units of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s regular army resist pressure from M23 rebels and their Rwandan allies.

The repercussions on the population are deeply felt: indiscriminate bombings, destruction of buildings, looting of shops and warehouses. In light of this increasingly alarming situation, the Bishop of Goma, Bishop Willy Ngumbi, has issued a Pastoral Statement decrying the distressing developments.

The Bishop says he has learnt of “bombing, among other attacks, of the neonatal department of Charite Maternelle General hospital, which has caused the death of newborn babies, as well as the bombing of the Diocesan offices.” Bishop Ngumbi has condemned the indiscriminate bombings, which have caused the deaths of many innocent lives.

Solidarity with victims of violence

The prelate insists that belligerents observe “absolute respect for human life and for private and public infrastructure.” He addresses “all parties involved in the current armed conflict as well as the population,” invoking “human dignity and international law.”

In his statement, Bishop Ngumbi emphasizes the importance of “ensuring the protection of life and allowing access to basic services for all.”

Bishop Ngumbi has, in the meantime, also urged combatants not to engage in sexual violence. Additionally, he “assures the entire population of Goma of the Church’s proximity and compassion, feeling particularly close to the wounded and families who have lost loved ones” in what he descried as  the current barbarity. +

The Bishop of Goma is also calling upon “the clergy, religious, as well as the faithful and anyone of goodwill, to provide necessary assistance to all who are in need.”