In January 2025, Goma was captured by the M23 militia group. 21 million people requiring aidIt has resulted in a major humanitarian crisis with more than 21 million people in DR Congo alone requiring humanitarian assistance. On Thursday, Lahbib was due to be at the Busuma refugee camp in Burundi which currently hosts more than 65,000 people. He also said that the Congo River Alliance was not seeking to secede from DR Congo but to have autonomy as part of a confederation. Prior to Lahbib’s visit, EU officials had conceded that assistance was only just starting to scale up in Burundi.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 19, 2026 16:11 UTC