Battle Threatens Displaced People at Salesian Work in DRC

Battle Threatens Camp for Displaced People at Don Bosco Shasha Salesian Work 

(ANS – Shasha, DRC – March 7, 2023) – Both heavy weapons of Congolese loyalist forces and displaced people have been placed in the territory of the Salesian concession – the area designated for plantations – of the Don Bosco Shasha center, about 25 miles southwest of the city of Goma, in Masisi territory.

“The Eucharistic celebration on Sunday, March 5, at the site where the displaced people are being received, was suspended following heavy gunfire on the highlands of the Salesian house and the camp of displaced people, who were hosted by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Shasha about a month ago,” reports JAMBO VIJANA, a magazine for the youth of the Salesian works of the Eastern Delegation of the SDB Congo Province.

“At the moment, the sounds of marching are heard within the Salesian concession and its northern periphery, where the loyalist force has settled in to confront the opposing forces, which are located a few kilometers away in the nearby town of Karuba,” the statement continues.

This military presence in the Don Bosco Shasha plantation is of great concern to the Salesians in Shasha because, in the current situation, the displaced people who have settled in this Salesian concession don’t feel safe. Despite this concern, the Salesians comfort this distressed population by saying, “This war in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is causing so many deaths and dehumanizing thousands of people, will one day come to an end.”

Fr. Kizito Thembo, SDB, director of the Salesian community in Shasha, invites people to unite in prayer to implore God’s help at this very difficult time, when every day brings a new wave of displaced people fleeing the fighting.

Frightened Displaced People Flee Don Bosco Shasha

(ANS – Shasha – March 9, 2023) – The use of heavy weapons by Congolese loyalist forces has thrown the occupants of the Salesian concession of the Don Bosco Shasha center into panic. As a result, thousands of people are on the run again, to unknown destinations.

Fear peaked on Tuesday, March 7, when rockets fired by Congolese loyalist forces stationed in the Salesian concession and its northern periphery reached the locality of Karuba, about 20 miles from the Salesian house, causing casualties among peaceful farmers in the area. The belligerent side from Karuba responded with artillery fire that fell in the Salesian concession.

According to reports from JAMBO VIJANA, the magazine published by the youth of the Salesian works of the SDB province’s Eastern Delegation, this resulted in the death of one person and two wounded, while people from the areas targeted by the shelling crossed the concession, wreaking panic and havoc. 415 children and youths from Salesian schools and 23 teachers immediately fled Shasha. 250 sharecropper families and 20 plantation workers also dispersed. 623 displaced families, or nearly 5,000 people, hastily emptied their makeshift shelters erected on Salesian land. The nearest health facility is without medical staff. In all war zones, there are fighting and a massive exodus of people. The stabilization efforts that had been initiated have been thwarted by yet another menace that has come to disrupt the lives of the displaced population.