Democratic Republic of the Congo: Explosive remnants of war yet again threaten lives

The town of Saké has witnessed several bouts of armed clashes between different armed groups. The most recent clashes, which mostly took place between late December 2024 and early January 2025, were particularly violent. Because the fighting occurred in densely populated urban areas, the risks associated with explosive devices have been greatly increased, and pose an immediate threat to civilians’ lives. Simple, daily activities – such as children playing outside or people gardening, foraging for food or walking on an unsurfaced road – now carry a potentially lethal level of danger.

Cases like Franck’s are common, not only in Saké but also in Goma, where explosive weapons with a wide impact area were also used at the end of January 2025. Some of those injured by explosive remnants of war – artillery and mortar shells, grenades, bombs and missiles – are being treated in Goma’s CBCA Ndosho Hospital, which is supported by the ICRC.

Between January and March 2025, more than 1,419 wounded people were treated at the CBCA Ndosho Hospital. At this facility alone, 301 of those treated were wounded by explosive devices, including explosive remnants of war – a figure that is likely to increase because of the explosive devices that are still present in the city and surrounding rural areas.

Sifa,* who is in her thirties, has just returned from collecting sweet potatoes. She lives not far from Saké and returned home in February 2025 after spending a year in a camp for displaced people in Goma. Despite not having enough to eat, this mother of five has stayed away from her abandoned fields in the hills above Saké because, after returning, she spotted explosive remnants of war. She no longer dares to venture into her fields, whether it be to harvest her old crops or to sow new ones.

“I am so scared of explosive devices. We are waiting for them to be removed so we can clear the land and safely sow crops again. Since getting back, I've been feeding my family by collecting the potatoes that our neighbours have left behind in the fields near the houses. There won’t be any left at some point, and then I don't know what we will do,” she says, worried.