Democratic Republic of Congo: ICRC facilitates care for people wounded by fighting in South Kivu
The recent escalation of fighting in several territories of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has resulted in dozens of people being wounded. Between the 2nd and 11th December, almost 100 people with weapons-related injuries were admitted to Uvira General Referral Hospital (HGR), which is supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“I was quietly at home when suddenly a shell fell nearby as I was carrying my child on my back. A piece of shrapnel hit me. Believing that I was the only one who had been hit, I fell down. That's when I realised that the child had been hit on my back and killed instantly,” says Mapenzi Maria, who was evacuated from Sange, a town 40 kilometres from Uvira.
Over the past few days, the ICRC, in collaboration with the DRC Red Cross, has facilitated the evacuation to Uvira hospital of 26 wounded people, including women and children, from various combat zones. However, the ICRC fears that other people who were wounded will not be able to access adequate care because of the ongoing fighting and the difficulty of crossing the front lines to reach health facilities in areas where few remain operational due to a lack of essential medicines and staff. For the wounded and sick, swift access to medical care is a matter of life and death.
“The humanitarian situation in the Uvira area remains worrying. It is characterised by massive population displacement caused by the intensification of armed violence observed in recent days, but also by the dysfunction of essential services such as water supply, electricity supply and, above all, the inaccessibility of healthcare due to the deteriorating security situation,” says Djibril Mamadou Diallo, head of the ICRC office in Uvira.
The ICRC is also urgently deploying an additional surgical team to deal with the influx of wounded people. Essential medicines and first aid kits were also provided to HGR Uvira, as well as 1,000 litres of fuel to run the hospital’s generators in the event of a power cut.
Due to the fighting, families, women, children and the elderly, who were already living in precarious conditions, are once again being displaced. Many have had to give up everything, including not just their property and livelihoods, but also their hopes for security and peace. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that humanitarian actors do not have the capacity to reach large parts of these populations and provide them with assistance due to ongoing fighting.
The ICRC urgently calls on all parties to protect civilian populations and preserve infrastructure essential for the survival of these affected communities, as well as to facilitate access to health care for the wounded.
Length : 04:51
Location : Sange, Uvira - South Kivu, DR Congo
Date of Recording : 6-12-2025 to 11-12-2025
Languages : French, Swahili
Cameraperson: Bahati Mastaki Christian, Alimasi Perpetué
Editing : Busasi Nsalimbi Jonathan
Copyright : ICRC full access
On-screen credit : ICRC text or logo
TESTIMONY Sango Yalala - Red Cross volunteer, Sange
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:09:21 : We are volunteers of the Red Cross in Uvira; we work with the ICRC to evacuate the wounded from the Plain (Ruzizi Plain).
00:00:09:28 - 00:00:20:06 : When going to the Plain, we face a critical situation, but we show courage; aboard ICRC vehicles, we go there and bring back the wounded.
00:00:20:07 - 00:00:28:14 : The situation on the Plain is very distressing; explosions follow the detonations of bombs… And these bombs injure many people.
00:00:28:18 - 00:00:41:19 : Today, we were on the Plain to evacuate the wounded; at the moment we were at the hospital, there was bomb fire and as a result we witnessed an influx of wounded. A large number were taken to Sange hospital.
TESTIMONY Mapenzi Maria – Displaced from Sange
00:00:44:08 - 00:00:48:23 : I was peacefully at home when suddenly a bomb fell into the house while I was carrying my child on my back.
00:00:49:19 - 00:00:57:10 : A fragment hit me. Thinking I was the only one injured, I fell; that’s when I realised the child on my back had been hit too and was killed instantly.
00:00:57:27 - 00:01:02:15 : That is how I was evacuated to Sange, and from Sange I was brought here to Uvira.
00:01:03:20 - 00:01:22:15 : Some images of the medical evacuation
Interview with Dr Salomon Mashupe - Medical Director, HGR Uvira
00:01:22:16 - 00:01:27:12 : We are really in need.
00:01:27:13 - 00:01:38:28 : In terms of supplies, especially medicines, dressings, as well as orthopaedic equipment.
00:01:39:02 - 00:01:46:29 : It is very urgent, very alarming, because the situation is not easy.
00:01:47:00 - 00:02:09:06 : Some images of the ICRC donation of medicines and stabilisation kits for the wounded to the Uvira General Referral Hospital.
00:02:09:07 - 00:02:51:11 : Some images of the visit to a patient. The ICRC team, accompanied by the head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Uvira.
Interview with Djibril Mamadou Diallo – Head of ICRC sub-delegation, Uvira
00:02:51:12 - 00:02:57:04 : The humanitarian situation in the Uvira area remains worrying.
00:02:57:23 - 00:03:24:23 : It is characterised by massive population displacement, driven by the intensification of armed violence in recent days, but also the disruption of essential services such as the water utility, SNEL, and above all the lack of access to health care due to the deteriorated security situation over the past few days.
00:03:24:24 - 00:03:59:13 : The ICRC remains, of course, mobilised to alleviate the suffering of affected populations by facilitating care for people wounded by gunfire as well as medical evacuations of people affected by the hostilities, and also by supporting essential services, namely REGIDESO and SNEL, to ensure continuity of these essential and vital services for the survival of the population.
00:03:59:14 - 00:04:23:05 : The ICRC reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular the protection of civilian populations and ensuring that civilian infrastructure essential to the survival of the population can be protected during the conduct of hostilities.
00:04:23:14 - 00:04:35:02 : The ICRC also reiterates the need to protect the medical mission and to guarantee access to care for people in need.
00:04:35:06 - 00:04:51:06 : The ICRC also reminds the parties of the need to protect humanitarian actors and to facilitate access to populations in need in order to alleviate their suffering, in accordance with international humanitarian law and the full relevant legal framework.
Ends
For more information, please contact :
Francine Kongolo, ICRC Kinshasa, tel : +243 (0) 81 992 23 28 e-mail : fkongolo@icrc.org
Eléonore Asomani, ICRC Dakar, tel : +221 78 186 46 87 e-mail easomani@icrc.org
