The NGO Save the Children reported on Wednesday that approximately 120,000 children have been forced to leave their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the beginning of 2025 due to renewed fighting between the national army and rebel groups.

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The eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, home to over 4.6 million displaced people, have been the hardest hit by this surge in violence, Save the Children stated in a press release.
“Children are caught in the crossfire, and time is running out for them. Humanitarian access to already vulnerable populations has been blocked,” warned Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s director in the DRC.

The NGO condemned an attack by the powerful March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group, which is fighting Congolese soldiers in the northeastern region.

On Tuesday, M23 seized the strategic city of Minova, marking the group’s first major urban capture in South Kivu. Save the Children has been actively working in the area alongside local partners to support affected communities.

David Okoni, a worker for one of the partner organizations, described the chaos: “Gunfire began around 5:00 a.m. local time, forcing residents—mostly displaced individuals—to flee in all directions.” He added that children were injured, and many unaccompanied minors are now desperately searching for their parents.
“The situation is dire. Parents lack food and clean drinking water for their children, and those injured by gunfire remain untreated as healthcare workers have fled for their safety,” Okoni said.

Following the attack, escape routes from the city were cut off, preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those in need. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 178,000 people were displaced in the Minova area between January 4 and January 20, with at least 113 people injured.

Save the Children urged all parties involved in the conflict to prioritize civilian protection and ensure unrestricted humanitarian access. The organization also called on the international community to take immediate action to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.

The renewed violence follows the collapse of a peace summit scheduled for December 15, 2024, in Angola. The summit, intended to bring together DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was suspended without resolution.

While Rwandan authorities deny supporting the M23, the United Nations has confirmed such collaboration. Kagame has also expressed public support for the rebels. Meanwhile, Rwanda and M23 have accused the Congolese army of cooperating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group founded in 2000 by individuals responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The FDLR’s collaboration with the Congolese military has also been confirmed by the UN.

Since 1998, the eastern DRC has been embroiled in a conflict fueled by rebel militias and the national army, despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO.

Save the Children reiterated its plea for immediate global intervention to address the crisis, highlighting the urgent need to protect children and provide humanitarian aid to affected populations.

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