Boat traffic between the cities of Goma and Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo resumed on Tuesday after several days of suspension due to fighting between the army and M23 rebels.
The Rwanda-backed group have captured the two key cities in Congo’s mineral-rich east in less than a month after a major escalation in their years-long fight against overstretched and weakened Congolese forces.
With the support of thousands of troops from neighbouring Rwanda, the rebels first took Goma last month before marching to Bukavu last weekend.
With roads in much of eastern DRC in poor condition, the small boats and ferries that crisscross Lake Kivu have long served as the main means of transportation for people and cargo in the region.
Among the passengers sailing from Goma’s port on Wednesday was Patrick Nadège, who was looking forward to rejoining his family in Bukavu.
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He lost his brother in a car accident last week, and had been struggling to get back to join his family in mourning.
““I knew it wasn’t safe to travel by road and I didn’t know how to get to Bukavu, so when I heard that shipping was allowed on Lake Kivu I was so happy,” he said.
In addition to transporting people, the boats carry traders’ goods, especially food, for sale in South Kivu, which, like North Kivu, is occupied by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.
“Everyone is happy. You can see for yourself that today we have loads compared to yesterday,” said Jean Bosco Barabona, captain of the boat Emmanuel 1.
“We just left with at least 50 tonnes [of cargo] compared to yesterday and I know that the people will also be happy when the boat docks in Bukavu.”
Fighting in the region has deepened the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC.
Businesswoman, Mamissa Kavugho, said she was so happy the boats are working again.
“With our children at home, we didn’t know how to feed them, we didn’t have anything to eat because we didn’t know how to work to survive,” she said.
However, the resumption of traffic on Lake Kivu does not mean that the fighting has stopped in eastern Congo.
Residents claim that the M23 rebels and the Congolese army continue to fight in other locations in the east of the country, committing acts of violence against civilians.
On Tuesday, the UN human rights chief accused the Rwanda-backed rebels of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.
