The Catholic aid agency CAFOD says new-born babies are believed to have been killed and injured after a Catholic maternity hospital was bombed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Fighting in the eastern part of DRC has seen new areas taken by the M23 rebel group, encircling the capital Goma and taking control of parts of the city, cutting it off from the outside.
Bernard Balibuno, CAFOD's Country Representative for DRC, told Premier Christian News:
“The situation in Goma is very serious and we are profoundly concerned. Our staff and partners are responding with what they have, and we will be scaling up our response as soon as possible.
“There is a Catholic maternity hospital that was bombed and children were injured in the neonatal ward. I think many of them even died, babies of two or three days and their caregivers. The neonatal side of the hospital has been completely damaged.”
CAFOD says that huge flows of people have arrived in Goma in recent days. Women and children fleeing ahead of the conflict have arrived in the city, exhausted from their journey, to find water and electricity cut off and food prices rising. Feeder routes into Goma are now blocked by heavy fighting, leaving people trapped.
Balibuno said that CAFOD staff in Goma are hearing shooting:
“Goma is a town of around 1 million people, so the fighting is downtown, where many people are being affected. We are hearing that M23 have claimed that they've taken the town.
“We’ve also heard that bombs have reached the houses of civilians.”
CAFOD says as many as 600,000 people have been displaced around Goma with many displaced again from refugee camps in the region.
Balibuno said the conflict in DRC had been overlooked on the news agenda because of the ongoing crises in Ukraine and Gaza:
“It is really a forgotten conflict. I think it's time now to call upon the international community to relook at this conflict that has killed so many people. It is time for the international community to support an end to the conflict.
“We urge all parties to ensure that the supply of humanitarian aid in Goma can continue and we tell people to really pray for the people of DRC and keep them in their thoughts.”
Conflicts between the Congolese government and rebel groups have lasted for decades, and there are fears that the conflict could now escalate across the region.