Medics treat a man wounded during fighting between Congolese government troops and M23 rebel forces in Goma’s Kyeshero hospital on February 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
Hundreds of wounded people have poured into overcrowded hospitals in Goma, a major city in eastern Congo, as fighting rages on between government forces and the Rwanda-backed rebels who seized the city of around 2 million people.
“They will get infected before we can treat them all,” said Florence Douet, an operating room nurse at Bethesda Hospital, as she attended to patients with varying degrees of injuries.
Since the start of the M23 rebels’ offensive on Goma on January 26, more than 700 people have been killed and nearly 3,000 have been wounded in the city and its vicinity, officials say. Bethesda Hospital alone said it receives more than 100 new patients each day, overstretching its capacity of 250 beds.
Bethesda is one of several hospitals in Goma that has inadequate personnel and supplies. The city hosts many of the close to 6.5 million people displaced by the conflict, which is one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. As more people arrived at the hospitals with gunshot or shrapnel wounds, many were forced to share beds while others lay on the floor, writhing in pain as they waited for medical attention.
“This is the first time I’m experiencing this,” said Patrick Bagamuhunda, who was wounded in the fighting. “This war has caused a lot of damage, but at least we are still breathing.”
Medical workers at Kyeshero Hospital in Goma say they are treating an increasing number of patients with bullet wounds.
“We removed 48 bullets yesterday,” Johnny Kasangati, a surgeon, said on Friday.
Kyeshero is also severely overcrowded, hitting more than 200% of its capacity on some days, according to Joseph Amadomon Sagara, a project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, which runs the hospital.
In the past, hospitals in Goma could transport wounded patients by boat to South Kivu’s main Bukavu city, but transport across Lake Kivu was suspended during the rebellion and roads have been mostly cut.
The fighting in and around Goma has also disrupted supply chains, leading to shortages in medical supplies that aid groups rely on. Some of it previously entered the city through its international airport, which is now under rebel control.
Published – February 04, 2025 10:03 am IST