Rebel violence in eastern Congo causes hunger to soar

NYIRAGONGO, Congo (AP) — The last thing Pasika Bagerimana remembers before her sons died were their cries of hunger. But the 25-year-old mother had nothing to feed them.

“'Mom, I need to eat. Can you give me food?'” they pleaded with her. Daniel, 2, and Bonane, 5, died just weeks apart in July after fleeing violence in their village in eastern Congo between M23 rebels and government forces.

Bagerimana worries her remaining two children might be next. “Hunger is killing people,” she says, seated in a cramped room she now shares with dozens of other displaced people.

Hunger is soaring across parts of Congo’s war-torn North Kivu province where the fighting between M23 rebels and government soldiers has been raging since November, according to aid workers, civilians and health workers.

Despite being the most fertile region in eastern Congo, nearly 260,000 people are facing extreme food insecurity in Nyiragongo and Rutshuru territories, according to an internal draft assessment by aid groups seen by The Associated Press.

Nyiragongo has the highest prevalence of hunger in the province and Rutshuru, where the fighting is concentrated also “remains a concern," the report said.

Congo is the No. 1 country in the world in need of food assistance, according to an unpublished draft food security report by aid agencies and the government seen by the AP. At least 26 million people — more than a quarter of the population — acutely face food insecurity in large part because of violence. Economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine are also making things worse.

Only 10% of those targeted by aid groups this year received the full recommended food assistance because of a lack of funds and security concerns restricting access. Humanitarians warn that if the fighting...