At least 773 people have been killed in the eastern Congolese city of Goma and surrounding areas in the past week as fighting escalates between the Congolese military and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, authorities said Saturday.
Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said the confirmed toll includes 773 bodies and 2,880 injured individuals in Goma’s morgues and hospitals. He cautioned that the actual number of casualties may be higher. “These figures remain provisional because the rebels asked the population to clean the streets of Goma. There should be mass graves, and the Rwandans took care to evacuate theirs,” Muyaya said during a briefing in Kinshasa.
Hundreds of Goma residents returned Saturday after the rebels pledged to restore essential services, including water and electricity. Many cleared debris and bloodstains from the streets.
M23, one of more than 100 armed groups in eastern Congo, is backed by an estimated 4,000 Rwandan troops, according to U.N. experts. The offensive surpasses the scale of M23’s 2012 takeover of Goma, which lasted for days before their withdrawal.
Congolese forces recaptured the villages of Sanzi, Muganzo, and Mukwidja in South Kivu’s Kalehe territory, according to two civil society officials who spoke anonymously for security reasons.
Congo’s military has suffered heavy losses, with hundreds of troops killed and foreign mercenaries surrendering to rebels following Goma’s fall. U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said Friday that M23 and Rwandan forces had advanced 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Bukavu in two days. Their next target, an airport near South Kivu’s capital, could mark a major escalation.
The capture of Goma has created a humanitarian crisis, cutting off aid for millions displaced by ongoing conflict. M23 rebels have vowed to march 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west to Kinshasa, Congo’s capital.
U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric confirmed a joint assessment by the World Health Organization and Congo’s government found 700 deaths and 2,800 injuries in Goma between Jan. 26 and 30.
The U.N. human rights office has accused M23 rebels of extrajudicial killings and forced conscription of civilians. “We have documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 from Jan. 26-28,” spokesman Jeremy Laurence said. Rebels have also occupied schools and hospitals and subjected civilians to forced labor.
Congolese forces have also been accused of sexual violence. The U.N. is verifying reports that 52 women in South Kivu were raped by government troops.
Humanitarian groups warn the situation is deteriorating. Rose Tchwenko, country director for the Mercy Corps aid group in Congo, said relief efforts have stalled, leaving communities without essential support. “The escalation of violence toward Bukavu raises fears of even greater displacement, while the breakdown of humanitarian access is leaving entire communities stranded,” she said.
AP
