Six years since our colleagues Romy, Richard and Philippe were abducted, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is still without news. On 11 July 2013, four MSF team members went on an exploratory mission to assess medical needs in a village in Kamango in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu Province. While they were there, armed Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked the village and kidnapped our colleagues.
Many armed groups continue to fuel a climate of fear in this region hemmed in between the Rwenzori Mountains and the dense forests of Virunga National Park and kidnappings are commonplace.
After over 13 months in captivity, on 29 August 2014, one of the MSF team abducted in Kamango was able to take advantage of the Congolese army’s military operations against the ADF and flee. While many other kidnap victims also managed to escape the vigilance of their jailers’ during this period, regrettably Philippe Bundya Musongelwa, Richard Muhindo Matabishi and Romy Ya-Dunia Ntibanyendera were not among them. All three are still missing.
Our organisation remains fully committed to our three colleagues, and our thoughts are with their families and friends.
The search for Philippe, Richard and Romy continues. Our organisation wishes to express its gratitude to the authorities for all their help and efforts to resolve this situation and secure the release of our three colleagues.