JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, government forces supported by militia groups are engaged in fierce fighting with M23 rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda. It is a battle for territory, for control over some of the world's richest mineral reserves, compounded by long-standing ethnic and political tensions. President Trump has repeatedly claimed his administration has ended the war and brought peace to the region. On the ground, the fighting is far from over. Emmet Livingstone reports from behind the government front lines. And we'll note, his story describes war injuries.
(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE DRIVING)
EMMET LIVINGSTONE, BYLINE: Two wounded soldiers are rushed into a tiny hospital in this remote corner of Eastern Congo. One of them, Corporal Jean-Baptiste (ph), screams as nurses probe the deep bullet wound in his thigh.
JEAN-BAPTISTE: (Screaming) Oh. Oh.
LIVINGSTONE: The corporal is one of a steady stream of patients arriving here at this hilltop hospital, supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Most are either soldiers or militia fighters allied to the Congolese government who have been wounded in clashes against M23 rebels. Overwhelmed doctors perform back-to-back surgeries. The front line is over 30 miles away in the remote highlands of the province of South-Kivu.
(SOUNDBITE OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT BEEPING)
LIVINGSTONE: Another soldier arrives on the back of a motorbike with bullet wounds in both legs.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER #1: (Speaking Lingala).
LIVINGSTONE: "The M23 rebels surprised us while we were on patrol," the soldier says. While he's determined to return to the front, the soldier feels bitter about the Congolese Army's meager resources and disarray.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER #1: (Speaking Lingala).
LIVINGSTONE: "The M23 is better armed," he says. On top of that, he says he hasn't been paid in six months. He asked us not to share his name. Speaking to reporters could cost him dearly.
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LIVINGSTONE: Last year, the Rwanda-funded M23 rebels launched a huge offensive in Eastern Congo and captured its two largest cities. Under diplomatic pressure from Washington, Congo and Rwanda signed a peace deal, and President Trump declared the war over. But on the ground, the fighting tells a different story. The situation has deteriorated further in the last few months. Fizi, a large territory of over a million people, has become one of the main theaters of the M23 conflict, as fighting has spread across the gold-rich highlands, reaching remote villages and valleys.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER #2: (Singing in Swahili).
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIERS: (Singing in Swahili).
LIVINGSTONE: Congolese troops are present, but they're vastly outnumbered by their allies, local militias known as Wazalendo - patriots in Swahili.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIERS: (Singing in Swahili).
LIVINGSTONE: In a village of mud huts, Wazalendo fighters sing about recent battles against the M23, brandishing their beat-up AK-47s. Kinshasa's decision to arm them is deeply controversial. Organized along ethnic lines, they are notorious for committing atrocities.
(SOUNDBITE OF BABY CRYING)
LIVINGSTONE: Across the region, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, forced from village to village as they flee clashes, exchanging farmwork for shelter. Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world, and in remote rural areas, villagers live a life of almost pure subsistence. Even over-the-counter painkillers are out of reach for the vast majority of villagers. Civilians, as ever, bear the heaviest cost, and especially the women.
FATOUMA: (Speaking Swahili).
LIVINGSTONE: Fatouma (ph) is cooking inside a tiny mud hut. Like nearly every person in this story, we're only sharing her first name for her own protection. She fled her home in the highlands in November. She says her husband was killed in the clashes and she was raped as she escaped the fighting. Hers is a depressingly common story.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOTORBIKE DRIVING BY)
LIVINGSTONE: In another nearby village named Nameshaln (ph), Chief Etabi Tchonga Songo (ph) says that they're struggling to cope with the waves of fleeing people.
ETABI TCHONGA SONGO: (Speaking Swahili).
LIVINGSTONE: Songo said he had hoped security would improve with the intervention of the U.S. president, but he's been disappointed by the continued fighting.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in Swahili).
LIVINGSTONE: For most in Fizi, there's a feeling of total abandonment and of desperation for a solution that never seems to come. For NPR News, I'm Emmet Livingstone in Fizi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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