Tens of thousands of IDPs are leaving and routine is tentatively returning, as residents hope for peace despite the ongoing crisis.
On a road west of Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mary Ashuza and her children walked, carrying their last remaining belongings with them.
Ashuza, a farmer and mother of five in her 40s, fled to North Kivu from her home in neighbouring South Kivu province in mid-January, after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced and violent clashes broke out between the armed group and the Congolese army.
“The DRC armed forces installed heavy artillery in my village, in Minova. I witnessed a neighbouring family being slaughtered. That’s why I fled here to Goma,” she told Al Jazeera.
The family ended up in one of the sprawling camps for displaced people, but after soldiers from the March 23 Movement (M23) swarmed into the city a week ago, claiming control, she fled again with thousands of others.
At first, she stayed with one of the host families in the local community who had opened their doors to fellow civilians. But she has since decided to leave Goma for good – largely due to a lack of aid and assistance.
