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STORY: UN / DRC GOMA MONUSCO
TRT: 06:00
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / 05 FEBRUARY 2025, GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Tilt up, exterior United Nations Headquarters
05 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“In Goma, we remain under occupation. The situation is still highly volatile with a persistent risk of escalation. The March 23rd movement, M23, and the Rwandan Defence Forces continue to consolidate their control over Goma and the majority of the territories of North Kivu the armed group has previously seized. All exit routes from Goma are under their control and the airport, also under M23 control, is closed until further notice.”
4. Wide shot, press room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“The situation in South Kivu is also particularly concerning, with heavy fighting reported along the main route between Kabulu I and Nyabibwe. In Bukavu, tensions are rising as the M23 moves closer, just 50km north of the city.”
6. Wide shot, press room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“While the 4th February unilateral ceasefire announced by the M23 offers assurances that Bukavu will not be taken, we are gravely concerned Kavumu airport, which is critical for ongoing civilian and humanitarian use around South Kivu.”
8. Wide shot, press room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“There's many places where UN missions are located that find themselves under the de facto authority control, such as Yemen and other places. The missions can still play a role, particularly in protection of civilians. And this mission would also be able to do that.”
10. Wide shot, press room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“In our bases in Goma. We are currently sheltering close to 2,000 people. This number changes every day as there’s people that wish to leave voluntarily. And there's also very urgent cases that we are still accepting, such as unaccompanied minors, on a very exceptional basis because our bases are full, full, full.”
12. Wide shot, press room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“We had welcomed this unilateral ceasefire for humanitarian reasons. And we're really hoping that it would hold. It appears that that is not the case, precisely for the reasons you just said. There is fighting ongoing, and it's moving, down south in South Kivu. So, I think you can fairly state that at this moment it is not holding up.”
14. Wide shot, press room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“So far, 2000 bodies have been collected from the Goma streets in recent days, and 900 bodies remain in the morgues of the Goma hospitals. We do not think that this is, that number would not go up. We expect this number to go up. And there's still many decomposing bodies in certain areas.”
16. Wide shot, press room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
If one goes around Goma, it is relatively calm right now compared to the two days of fighting that we saw during the Battle of Goma, which has caused a lot of damage, but is in the process of being addressed step by step. So, if one were to work around in Goma at this moment, you will see that the markets are open again.”
18. Wide shot, press room
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“The east of the country is blessed with, very, rare minerals. For example, coltan, which is in all your mobile phones. It comes largely here from the Congo. So, we have on the one hand the resource curse. We have, on the other hand, we have root causes of poverty, ethnic tensions. We have the unresolved tail end of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. So, there are many, many, many causes. And it needs to be addressed for once and for all, because this country cannot go on like this. The population cannot be caught in these continuing cycles of violence.”
20. Wide shot, end of presser
05 FEBRUARY 2025, GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
21. Various shots, general street views
22. Various shot, man preparing street food
23. Various shots, clothing store
24. Various shots, food market
A top official from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) today (5 Feb) reported that despite a “relative calm” in Goma, the city remains “under occupation,” and “the situation is still highly volatile with a persistent risk of escalation.”
Briefing reporters in New York from Goma, Vivian van de Perre, who is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Protection and Operations, said, the M23, and the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) “continue to consolidate their control over Goma and the majority of the territories of North Kivu the armed group has previously seized. All exit routes from Goma are under their control and the airport, also under M23 control, is closed until further notice.”
De Perre said the situation in South Kivu “is also particularly concerning, with heavy fighting reported along the main route between Kabulu I and Nyabibwe,” while “in Bukavu, tensions are rising as the M23 moves closer, just 50km north of the city.”
MUNUSCO does not have a presence in South Kivu.
The peacekeeping official said, “while the 4th February unilateral ceasefire announced by the M23 offers assurances that Bukavu will not be taken, we are gravely concerned Kavumu airport, which is critical for ongoing civilian and humanitarian use around South Kivu.”
Asked about MONUSCO’s operational constraints under the M23’s occupation, she said, “there's many places where UN missions are located that find themselves under the de facto authority control, such as Yemen and other places. The missions can still play a role, particularly in protection of civilians. And this mission would also be able to do that.”
De Perre noted that MONUSCO is sheltering “close to 2,000 people” in its bases in Goma,” adding that “this number changes every day as there’s people that wish to leave voluntarily. And there's also very urgent cases that we are still accepting, such as unaccompanied minors, on a very exceptional basis because our bases are full, full, full.”
Asked about the ceasefire, she said “we had welcomed this unilateral ceasefire for humanitarian reasons. And we're really hoping that it would hold. It appears that that is not the case, precisely for the reasons you just said. There is fighting ongoing, and it's moving, down south in South Kivu. So, I think you can fairly state that at this moment it is not holding up.”
De Perre reported that “so far, 2000 bodies have been collected from the Goma streets in recent days, and 900 bodies remain in the morgues of the Goma hospitals. We do not think that this is, that number would not go up. We expect this number to go up. And there's still many decomposing bodies in certain areas.”
Asked about the general situation in the city, she said, “if one goes around Goma, it is relatively calm right now compared to the two days of fighting that we saw during the Battle of Goma, which has caused a lot of damage, but is in the process of being addressed step by step. So, if one were to work around in Goma at this moment, you will see that the markets are open again.”
On the causes for the current conflict, De Perre said, “the east of the country is blessed with, very, rare minerals. For example, coltan, which is in all your mobile phones. It comes largely here from the Congo. So, we have on the one hand the resource curse. We have, on the other hand, we have root causes of poverty, ethnic tensions. We have the unresolved tail end of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. So, there are many, many, many causes. And it needs to be addressed for once and for all, because this country cannot go on like this. The population cannot be caught in these continuing cycles of violence.”
The United Nations and humanitarian partners’ efforts are currently focused on reducing the risk of epidemics and providing emergency relief, carrying out assessments, including in and around Goma.
Although some water and electricity services have been partially restored in Goma, much more is needed to ensure that people have access to adequate services.
