Fire Ravages Muganga Camp Amid Congo's Ongoing Crisis

A fire in Congo's Muganga displacement camp destroyed 50 tents, leaving families homeless. This follows recent bomb attacks that killed 18. The camp, plagued by conflict, houses thousands displaced by decades-long violence involving over 100 armed groups. Survivors recount losing their essentials to the flames.

A devastating fire swept through the Muganga displacement camp in eastern Congo, destroying around 50 makeshift tents and leaving dozens of families without shelter, according to United Nations reports. The inferno is believed to have ignited during cooking activities at the camp.

The Muganga camp, located near the provincial capital of Goma, has faced turmoil in recent months. In early May, it suffered bomb attacks that claimed at least 18 lives and left 32 injured. The majority of the victims were women and children, and the type of explosives used remains undisclosed. "While I was trying to empty the house of my valuables, I couldn't save my most precious items: my tokens to receive various humanitarian assistance," said Anne Marie Nikuze, a 60-year-old displaced person.

"We escaped the bomb attacks recently, and now, the fire has struck us," said Furaha Mulema Mariam, 42, a mother of four. "The only luck is that it happened during the day; if it had been at night, we would all be dead." Eastern Congo has long been a hotspot of conflict, with over 100 armed groups vying for land and control of mineral-rich mines. This violence has displaced about 7 million people, many of whom live in temporary camps like Muganga.

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