As the world observed the International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8, a Congolese female refugee called on the international community to take action against killings and harassment committed against women and girls in eastern DR Congo.

"On the occasion of the International Women's Day, I would like to ask women in leadership positions all over the world to speak up about the ongoing genocide in Congo,” said Audience Uwamahoro, who took part in a march by Congolese refugees at Kigeme camp, protesting targeted killings of Tutsi, Hema and Banyamulenge communities in eastern DR Congo.

"This genocide has to stop. The international community must do something about the killings for us to return home to Congo.”

Uwamahoro was 15 when she fled to Rwanda in 2012 from Kilorirwe, Masisi territory in North Kivu province. She is now a mother of three children. "I wish my children to grow up in the land of our ancestors,” she said.

Throughout the week, Congolese refugees in Rwandan camps held marches calling for an end to targeted violence against Tutsi, Hema an Banyamulenge communities in eastern DR Congo, accusing government forces and militias like FDLR of committing genocide.

The FDLR, a militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, is part of a government-led coalition that includes forces from Burundi and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been accused of killings targeted at Tutsi communities in North Kivu.

Rwanda hosts over 100,000 Congolese refugees. Some of them have spent 28 years in camps.

Eastern DR Congo has been volatile for nearly 30 years.

The provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri are home to more than 130 armed groups that are accused of atrocities and human rights violations.

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28-year-old Furaha Nyiranizeyimana, a native of Kalehe, in South Kivu, appealed for the end of violence in the east of DR Congo where local communities are left helpless in the face of government-supported persecution.

"We condemn the ongoing genocide in Congo, the Tutsi are being killed, Banyamulenge and Hema are being butchered like goats. Some are even cannibalised in broad daylight. All we need is justice,” she said.

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"We have always been persecuted for being Tutsi,” said 65-year-old Devota Nyirakaringo who has lived in Kigeme camp since 2012.

"Since I was 15, we have always been targets of violence. I have not heard from some members of my family since I fled to Rwanda. I asked people who joined us recently, but none ever met my relatives. I don’t know if they were killed or if they are still alive,” Nyirakaringo said.

"For us to return to Congo, there must be peace. We want foreign countries to act against [President] Tshisekedi. He is the one causing all this problem,” she said.