The once-bustling refugee camps near Goma, which hosted hundreds of thousands of people, are now desolate landscapes following the capture of the city by M23 movement.
A freelance journalist based in Goma who recently visited the Kanyaruchinya and Lushagara camps told us that most tents in these camps had been abandoned.
He said, “All you see are vast, empty spaces littered with rocks and plastic debris. It’s hard to believe that thousands of people once lived here.”
Dany Kalume, a member of Goma’s civil society, confirmed that most former residents of these camps had returned to their homes in Rutshuru and Masisi territories, now under M23 control. Last week, M23 reportedly provided vehicles to transport remaining refugees back to their villages.
The camps of Bulengo, Kimashini, and Lushagara, located west of Goma, were also vacated during fierce fighting in Mubambiro as M23 advanced toward Goma. Many camp residents fled deeper into Goma and never returned, according to the journalist.
Since August 2023, refugees who fled violence in Rutshuru, Masisi, and Lubero territories have gradually begun returning home.
By late August 2024, the independent humanitarian organization La Veille Humanitaire de Bwito reported that about 100,000 people had returned to their homes in Bwito, Rutshuru.
M23 has encouraged refugees to return, asserting that the areas it controls are peaceful while accusing the government of holding refugees hostage to prevent their return.
However, the government has warned refugees to be cautious about returning to M23-controlled areas, accusing the group of civilian killings.
Before the escalation of fighting, the Kanyaruchinya and Lushagara camps alone hosted between 300,000 and 400,000 internally displaced persons living in dire conditions.
Last year, during the Mpox outbreak in DR Congo, these camps became hotspots for the disease. At one of the treatment centers in Goma, 70% of patients seeking care were from refugee camps, with children accounting for 75% of cases, according to health officials.
