Return and Resilience: Farmers Face New Land Battles in Eastern Congo

In eastern Congo, farmers returning to their fields after fleeing due to conflict face new challenges under M23 rebel control. Land disputes and lack of resources hinder their recovery, and while many have returned home, they find precarious conditions exacerbated by insufficient aid and dismantled displacement camps.

Eastern Congo's farmers, who previously fled their homes amid intense fighting, now face a fresh set of challenges as they return to fields under rebel control. The recent advance of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels has resulted in 1.2 million people being displaced in North and South Kivu provinces since January.

With displacement camps dismantled by M23, an estimated 1.8 million people have returned home, often under duress, to find their lands occupied by others. Among these returnees is Ndagijimana Ntaboba, a farmer who had to pay for his own harvest after finding another family working his land.

The dire situation is compounded by the lack of resources and continued instability. As families struggle without sufficient aid, land disputes loom, threatening to spark further tensions. Jan Egeland of the Norwegian Refugee Council underscores the precarious nature of their return, driven more by necessity than choice.

(With inputs from agencies.)