Thousands Leave Goma IDP Camps As M23 Issues Deadline For Return To Villages

GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - FEBRUARY 12: A displaced civilian carries a young child as she walks to her home village on February 12, 2025 in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has reported that at least 110,000 displaced people have left camps around Goma as people return to home villages, where there is no longer fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese forces. This week, representatives for M23, which recently gained control of Goma and the surrounding area, gave a 72-hour ultimatum for people to leave IDP sites in the city. A UNOCHA spokesperson expressed concern about the circumstances of these returns, saying that they should be "voluntary and take place under safe, informed and dignified conditions in accordance with international humanitarian law." (Photo by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images)