The Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry on Saturday said there were 773 bodies in hospital morgues in and around the eastern Congolese city of Goma as of January 30 after the offensive by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
It said that morgues were over-filled and more bodies are lying on the street, adding that 2,880 wounded were recorded between January 26 and January 30.
DAILY POST gathered that the Tutsi-led M23 rebels on Tuesday seized Goma, east Congo’s largest city and the capital of North Kivu province, which is home to lucrative gold, coltan and tin mines.
The rebels then moved on towards Bukavu in South Kivu, but appeared to be held up on Friday by Congolese troops supported by Burundi’s army.
It was gathered that M23 is the latest in a long line of Rwandan-supported rebel movements to emerge in Congo’s volatile eastern borderlands following two successive wars stemming from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
The latest escalation has worsened a long-standing humanitarian crisis that has driven hundreds of thousands to seek shelter in Goma after fleeing fighting between M23 and Congolese troops.
Thousands more streamed into the city this month as the rebels advanced.
Humanitarian organisations struggled to operate during the days of heavy fighting surrounding Goma’s capture, supporting overwhelmed hospitals and providing relief amid widespread looting of their warehouses and crossfire that also affected their own staff.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) on Friday said it had only a small stock of medicine left and had stopped assisting people in displacement camps.
The World Food Programme said it had evacuated staff and suspended activities.
The health ministry said there was a shortage of medical supplies, ambulances and body bags, with security concerns still limiting access to parts of the city.
According to the United Nations, daily life was tentatively resuming in Goma on Saturday after intense fighting that led to human rights violations including summary executions, the bombing of displacement camps, reports of gang rape and other sexual violence.
