Displaced by the M23
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
Winner of the 2023 ICRC Humanitarian Visa d’or Award – International Committee of the Red Cross
In the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is ongoing conflict between government forces and rebels with the “March 23” movement (M23), a rebel group backed by Rwanda according to the United Nations. More than a million civilians have been forced to abandon their homes and seek shelter in vast displacement camps. In this long-term aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the conflict has been escalating and has reached a critical point. On the frontline, the Armed Forces of the DRC are battling the advancing rebels. Military forces and mercenaries from different nations are on the ground, using heavy weapons and conducting airstrikes. In the scramble to capture and hold territory, rockets, artillery and mortars have begun to hit civilian targets, including displacement sites, killing dozens, and wounding hundreds more.
According to civilians trapped behind the frontline, the international community is unable to protect them, and they are left with no hope of a peaceful outcome. This is a region where violence has been passed down over generations. Many families have been displaced again and again, in particular during the latest M23 offensive launched in 2022.
Preview
Over the past two years of fighting, the frontlines have closed in, forcing civilians to flee to ever smaller safe areas around the city of Goma. And even in displacement camps there is no guarantee of safety: disease is rife, food scarce and sexual violence rampant. Military operations continue in the surrounding terrain, within earshot, and the threat of violence is always present.
The conflict has seen widespread targeting of civilians, as with the Kishishe massacre in 2022 when more than 130 were killed by M23 rebels, and the 2024 bombing of Mugunga displacement camp that left 35 dead. Local militia groups have rallied to fight against the M23 rebels, but they too have been accused of attacks on civilians, including the destruction of a number of villages. This portfolio of photos is from my full-time work covering the M23 crisis since the resurgence of the conflict. The images of the humanitarian situation and the conflict were taken between 2022 and 2024, at a time of dramatic escalation when Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, was surrounded by rebel forces.
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
