DR Congo (MNN) — Rebels' refusal to leave an eastern city in DR Congo didn't last long. The UN reports that while M23 rebel fighters withdrew from Goma over the weekend, the situation there remains fragile.
Rebels left the capital city under supervision of peacekeeping troops from the UN Organization Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO), a requirement laid out by the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). Although the airport in Goma was re-opened, which means relief aid can be flown in directly, tensions are still sky-high.
According to the UN, armed men recently looted a camp holding 30,000 refugees, and over 80 rapes have been recorded. UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky warned reporters at the New York UN Headquarters that the humanitarian situation in North Kivu is still a concern.
Evangelical Free Church of America's (EFCA) TouchGlobal shares that unease. There are over 700,000 refugees in areas near the Rwandan-Congolese border.
"In eastern Congo, we have people responding to the needs of refugees who are still settled in refugee camps, providing food, tarps, any kind of assistance," EFCA's Jim Snyder told MNN last week.
He added that many refugees had left their Bibles at home when they fled, or Bibles were destroyed when refugees' homes were burned. Churches in the area are responding, asking for your help to replace 500 Swahili Bibles.
$18 covers the cost of a Bible and its safe delivery to refugees in Eastern Congo. Click here to send one.
