GOMA, DR Congo, Oct. 6 — More than eight months after rebels seized Goma, the international airport of this urban hub in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains shuttered, a stark symbol of a grinding conflict that continues to paralyze the region.
Cut off from much of the country, Goma, home to over one million people, now feels like a city under siege. National roads linking it to the rest of the DRC are largely impassable due to ongoing clashes, while lake transport across Lake Kivu, once a vital lifeline, has been severely curtailed by restrictions imposed by the March 23 Movement (M23), which captured the city in late January.
At the airport’s entrance, an iron gate stands bolted shut. Behind it, masked M23 fighters maintain round-the-clock watch, controlling access under strict orders from their commanders. Entry is granted sparingly, and only with explicit authorization, in the name of security.
Inside, neglect and destruction dominate. The once-bustling parking lot, where taxis jostled for passengers, is now overgrown with weeds. Military debris still litters the tarmac, despite a partial UN cleanup earlier this year. Administrative offices and technical departments stand ransacked, doors broken in, while rusting armored vehicles lie abandoned across the compound.
“Be careful, unexploded devices remain. The Congolese military planted them during the last battles in January,” a rebel security officer warned. He said hidden booby traps had already wounded several of his men.
The scars of battle are everywhere. The control tower is gutted, its wires ripped out and computers smashed. Burned-out military trucks sit frozen on the runway. In a nearby hangar, rebels display an abandoned Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jet as a war trophy, surrounded by scattered munitions.
The January battle for Goma lasted nearly two days, pitting M23 fighters against a Congolese army unit entrenched at the airport. Heavy artillery fire left the facilities badly damaged. Both sides continue to trade blame: rebels accuse Kinshasa of deliberately destroying the airport to deny them a strategic asset, a charge the government flatly rejects.
“Just like the banks kept closed on Kinshasa’s orders, the government continues to block the reopening of the airport. Even if we repair some of the damage, only Kinshasa can authorize international operations,” said Bertrand Bisimwa, a senior political figure in the M23, last month.
For Goma’s residents, the closure has been devastating. The city’s main air gateway is paralyzed, forcing travelers to detour through Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, or endure grueling overland trips to Kampala, Uganda, before catching a flight.
The shutdown has also gutted small businesses. Vendors who once relied on passenger traffic at the terminal now face empty stalls. Humanitarian operations have been severely disrupted as well, with aid deliveries and logistics hampered by the loss of the airport.
For many, the silence of the airfield has become the clearest reminder that the war is far from over, as clashes between the M23 and Congolese forces, often backed by regional allies, continue across North and South Kivu.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, has also been hard hit. Mission chief Bintou Keita told the UN Security Council on Sept. 30 that troop rotations are stalled, fuel and food shipments delayed, and the airport remains inaccessible.
“Without these conditions in Goma, MONUSCO cannot fully deliver the protection mandate entrusted by this council in this area,” Keita said.
