Congolese bishops warn the West of 'genocide'
By staff reporter
21 November 2008

A severely malnourished boy waits for milk at a Catholic mission feeding centre in Rutshuru, eastern Congo (CNS)

Congolese bishops have denounced the international community's tolerance of increasing hostilities in eastern Congo, which they called a "silent genocide" against the civilian population there.

"We are calling on the international community to work sincerely to ensure respect for international law," said a Congolese bishops' committee in a statement on the war in the east and north-east of Congo on November 13.

Decrying the alleged inaction of the UN peacekeeping mission (Monuc), which the bishops accused of standing by and watching the violence, the bishops said it was "crucial that a peace and stabilisation force be sent to re-establish order in our country".

"The situation has reached intolerable proportions which are very worrying and could destabilise the whole region if nothing is done," they said.

Large-scale massacres of the civilian population, targeted murders of young people and systematic rapes perpetrated as a weapon of war are now part of the daily routine in the area north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, they said.

They pointed out that conflicts between armed groups are taking place where mineral resources are mined.

"It is obvious that the natural resources of... Congo are fuelling the greed of certain powers and these natural resources are not unrelated to the violence now being inflicted on the population," they said.

Ongoing fighting between rebels and pro-government forces has led to more than 1.5 million refugees. The most recent violence has displaced at least 250,000 people since the conflict flared in August. The Catholic Church in North Kivu is helping refugees through Caritas Goma, a partner of Cafod, the aid agency of Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

Cafod has launched a £1 million appeal for civilians caught up in the fighting. So far, they have raised £855,000.

As The Catholic Herald went to press rebels had launched another offensive despite declaring a ceasefire.