The village of Ngoma was a port for lake traffic and a crossroads for the overland trade routes between
Central Africa and the
Indian Ocean. In 1894, the explorer
Gustav Adolf von Götzen, following the footsteps of an earlier missionary, was traveling to Rwanda from the eastern coast of Africa and passed through the village, which he recorded as Goma. In 1906, officers of the
Congo Free State established Goma post opposite
Gisenyi as a military outpost to oversee
maritime activities on
Lake Kivu, which later transformed into a civil status office. Around 1930, the Goma precinct accommodated camps for laborers of the Eastern Railway (CFE), initially sited along Lake Kivu's eastern shores. In 1945, it burgeoned into a state post under
Rutshuru Territory's jurisdiction, experiencing a rapid demographic upsurge with approximately 8,600 inhabitants. Meanwhile, the native population relied on the Saint André School, later renamed Kyeshero Primary School, for
primary education. In 1951, Goma was elevated to the territorial and capital level of North Kivu. This period also witnessed movements advocating for administrative separation between Goma and
Rutshuru, leading to the establishment of deliberative and executive bodies in Kirotshe and later in
Sake. The latter was limited to contemporary Birere, a densely populated
quartier abutting the Rwandan border. Meanwhile, the
quartiers allocated for European settlers were concentrated within the contemporary city center (
quartier les Volcans) and an enclave of the Himbi
quartier, which persists as the most urbanized, affluent, and wealthy parts of the city. Over two million Hutus fled the country to Zaire and many Tutsis and Hutus were internally displaced within Rwanda. Although Hutu extremists were responsible for the mass killing of Tutsis, scholars like Judi Rever and
Filip Reyntjens argue that the main perpetrators of the slaughter were the Tutsi-dominated RPF, led by
Paul Kagame. According to Judi Rever, Kagame personally commanded massacres at places like
Byumba soccer stadium in northern Rwanda and ordered the pursuit of Hutus in the Zairean forests. They devised ways to dispose of large numbers of bodies by "dissolving them in acid, dumping them in rivers and swamps, or burning them, and established open air crematorium". Various UN missions attempted to establish safe zones and facilitate the movement of refugees. Between 13 June and 14 July 1994, an overwhelming number of refugees, ranging from 10,000 to 12,000 per day, fled across the border to Goma, resulting in a severe
humanitarian crisis, as there was an acute lack of shelter, food and water. However, the Zairean government took it upon itself to garner attention for the situation. Shortly after the arrival of nearly one million
refugees, a deadly
cholera outbreak swept through the Hutu refugee camps near Goma, claiming thousands of lives. RPF-aligned forces, which had fought in the conflict, crossed the border to Zaire and in acts of revenge also claimed several lives
First Congo War As early as mid-1996, infiltrated units from Rwanda began targeting
Hutu refugee camps along the
Rutshuru road, even before formal hostilities began. On the evening of 27 June 1996, an infiltrated group allegedly carried out an attack on the Kibumba refugee camp, resulting in casualties among Hutu refugees, soldiers from the
Contingent Zaïrois pour la sécurité des camps (CZSC), and
Red Cross personnel. During the
First Congo War, from mid-October 1996, Rwandan infiltrations intensified, accompanied by sporadic attacks on refugee camps along the Goma to Rutshuru road by the newly formed
Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), a rebel movement led by
Laurent-Désiré Kabila, and
Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) led by
Paul Kagame, who aimed to overthrow
Mobutu Sese Seko's regime, accusing him of excluding Tutsis from governance and failing to stop the
génocidaires. The Kibumba camp, situated twenty-five kilometers north of Goma, was the first to fall under assault. On the night of 25–26 October 1996, AFDL and RPA soldiers bombarded the Kibumba camp, resulting in casualties among Hutu refugees and the destruction of the camp's hospital. Subsequently, approximately 194,000 refugees fled Kibumba towards the Mugunga camp.
Second Congo War Within a year of assuming power,
Laurent-Désiré Kabila found himself in conflict with his former allies, and in 1998, the Rwandan government threw its support behind a Goma-based rebel movement known as the
Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), occasionally denoted as
RCD-Goma. The Goma refugee encampments, where Hutu refugees and Interahamwe militants had forged a militia known as the
Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), morphed into battlegrounds as Rwandan government forces and the RCD clashed with them to assert dominion. The 10th Brigade of the FAC mutinied, leading to the swift capture of Goma by the RCD and Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), with minimal resistance. Goma remained beyond the reach of the Kinshasa government's forces for nearly three years, save for
sporadic barrage.
Ongoing conflict, 2002-present Since the conclusion of the Second Congo War, Goma has been plagued by conflict despite the peace agreements of 2002. In 2006, it became a focal point for the
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's 81st and 83rd Brigades, who remained faithful to Congolese Tutsi military defector
Laurent Nkunda, who accused the government of neglecting to assimilate his military faction into the national army and failing to safeguard their interests. Numerous heinous crimes were committed by Nkunda during his reign of terror. In 2002, he sanctioned the massacre of over 150 people in
Kisangani. In
Bukavu in 2004, his insurgent affiliates, in conjunction with Colonel
Jules Mutebutsi, executed widespread atrocities, including sexual violence and arbitrary detentions, predominantly targeting young girls.
Human Rights Watch clamored for Nkunda's arrest in February 2006, Despite intermittent losses and counteroffensives by FARDC's 9th Integrated Brigade, and by December, the violence had displaced over 80,000 people, many of whom sought refuge on the outskirts of Goma. The conflict escalated further in early 2007, with Goma's healthcare organization, Groupe d'Entraide et de Solidarité Médicale (GESOM), treating an average of three rape survivors daily from both urban and rural sectors. On 17 May, FARDC arrested 14 Rwandan nationals, including members of Nkunda's brigade, as
MONUSCO noted that his militia in North Kivu was wearing distinctive Rwandan military uniforms. Later in May, the French Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bernard Prévost, visited the Mugunga displacement camp near
Sake and announced that
France would allocate over
€2.6 million to the
World Food Programme to support displaced persons in the eastern DRC. In June 2007,
William Lacy Swing, Director General of the
International Organization for Migration, expressed profound concern about the escalating conflict, citing rising insecurity, ethnic discord, the swelling numbers of internally displaced persons, and an increase in human rights abuses in North Kivu. Toward the end of June, Rwandan combatants launched a deadly assault on Lake Kivu, resulting in the deaths of four people, including three fishermen and a
Congolese naval officer. The attackers also looted valuable fishing equipment and an
outboard motor. Initial negotiations with Rwandan officials regarding cross-border security on Lake Kivu ultimately facilitated the partial recovery of the stolen fishing assets in Rwanda. However, the following day saw renewed clashes, with most of the population from Goma's surrounding regions seeking shelter in the Mugunga, Lac-Vert, and Ndosho neighborhoods, as well as Goma Centre, fearing further confrontations between the FARDC and Nkunda's forces. Nine deceased people were subsequently uncovered in three separate
mass graves within Rubare, approximately 12 km from
Rutshuru, north of Goma. Two other bodies were discovered in the administrative support post of Kisharo's office, around 20 kilometers from Kiwanja, along the route to Nyamilima and Shasha, within Rutshuru Territory. On 27 October 2008, the
Battle of Goma broke out in the city between the Congolese army, supported by MONUSCO, and Nkunda's
CNDP rebels; 200,000 refugees fled the town. On 3 November 2012, there was a
clash between Congolese and Rwandan troops on the border just north of Goma. Goma was later seized by the
M23 Movement on 20 November 2012. Later that year, the Rwandan-backed rebel group, the
March 23 Movement (M23), made significant territorial gains in North Kivu. Fighting began with the FARDC in
Nyiragongo Territory, particularly in the
Kibumba groupement of
Bukumu Chiefdom, resulting in the M23 taking direct control of the entire territory. The territorial administrator and most of his staff fled strategically. As clashes spread to the southern part of the
Munigi groupement and surrounding areas, Goma ultimately fell to M23 on 20 November 2012. Under M23 rule, the city's residents experienced terror due to the rebel presence, limited access to drinking water, lack of electricity, deteriorating hygiene and sanitation, sharply rising prices, higher unemployment, restrictions on freedom of expression, and increased social inequality. 13 people were killed, 23 women were sexually assaulted, 17 men were kidnapped, 109 motorcycles were confiscated, and 1,970 laptops were stolen. On 22 February 2021, the
Italian ambassador,
Luca Attanasio, was killed in an apparent kidnapping attempt near
Virunga National Park. He was part of the U.N.'s
World Food Programme (WFP). Two others were also killed. The
M23 campaign, which pitted M23 against the FARDC and other armed groups, has displaced around 1.1 million people, including over 600,000 now confined to overcrowded, unsanitary displacement sites surrounding Goma. Some regional efforts have sought to contain the crisis, including the deployment of
Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces and high-level summits aimed at reviving the peace process and securing a ceasefire. On 12 February, South Africa announced the dispatch of 2,900 troops to support the
SADC mission in eastern DRC, though the operation suffered losses when two South African soldiers were killed and three wounded by M23
mortar fire on 15 February. Despite these initiatives, prospects for lasting peace remain uncertain, particularly in the absence of
direct dialogue between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. with nearly 3,000 people reportedly killed. On 27 January, the city was captured by M23, and more than 4,000 detainees escaped from Muzenze prison amid the fighting, during which hundreds of female inmates were reportedly raped and burned alive. A year later, on 27 January 2026, the Congolese government organized a national commemoration titled
Résistance, Résilience et Unité du peuple congolais (meaning "Resistance, Resilience, and Unity of the Congolese People") at the
Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa to honor civilians killed or displaced by the conflict.
Coltan conflict-driven crime near Goma The regional conflict surrounding
coltan and other lucrative resources has compounded Goma's challenges with crime. Armed groups, including the Rwandan military, the RCD-Goma, and various opposition factions, have been implicated in the systemic targeting of civilians as they vied for dominion over resource-abundant zones. During 2000 and 2001, RCD-Goma forces reportedly conducted a spate of violent incursions into residences, particularly targeting individuals engaged in the
coltan trade. Notably, on 18 November 2000, armed men, including RCD-Goma combatants, attacked the residence of Edouard Kasereka Kahimba, a coltan buyer. The assailants demanded
business records and coltan, injuring Kahimba and assaulting his family members. On 29 December 2000, combatants reportedly targeted a coltan trader known as "Safro" Sanvura, ransacking his residence and shooting indiscriminately. Similar incidents persisted into 2001, such as the attack on Pierre Hakizimana on 9 April, in which he was robbed of $3,000 at gunpoint. On 8 September 2001, unidentified men in uniform conducted an early-morning attack on Sengiyumva, a 41-year-old coltan trader residing in Katoyi. He sustained three gunshot wounds to his leg after being beaten with sticks, with both cash and mineral resources being seized. Subsequently, on 14 October 2001, another trader, Papy, aged 26, endured a violent assault in his home, resulting in two gunshot wounds to the abdomen, allegedly inflicted by RCD-Goma forces. Though Papy survived, he required prolonged hospitalization for recovery. ==Volcanic activity ==