Goma: Congo has been witnessing a massive political crisis with Rwanda-backed rebels capturing the city of Goma and another town near the provincial capital of Bukavu. Amid the ongoing violence, it has been reported that hundreds of women in Goma's Munzenze Prison were raped and burnt alive by the rebels.
As violence surges in Congo over a decade-long political crisis, it has been reported that hundreds of women were raped and then burnt alive in the Munzenze Prison in the city of Goma, by the rebels.
The Guardian quoted a senior United Nations official, Vivan Van de Perre as saying, “There was a major prison breakout of 4,000 escaped prisoners. A few hundred women were also in that prison. They were all raped and then they set fire to the women’s wing. They all died afterwards.”
The horrific incident occurred during a jailbreak following the seizure of the city by the rebels; as per a leading media organisation that cited internal UN documents, women were assaulted by male inmates as they broke out of jail.
In Goma, where the UN said almost 2,000 bodies of those killed in the violence were collected by the Red Cross and 787 bodies were still in health care facilities, residents continued to bury their loved ones.
“We expect this number to go up, and there are still many decomposing bodies in certain areas,” said van de Perre. The situation was “very fluid.” “The escalating violence has led to immense human suffering, displacement, and a growing humanitarian crisis,” she said.
The U.N.'s humanitarian partners in Congo will be affected and suffer from the U.S. halt to aid funding, as will the International Organization for Migration, she added.
Rwanda-backed rebels gained ground in eastern Congo on Wednesday despite the unilateral ceasefire they declared earlier this week, taking control of a town 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the provincial capital of Bukavu, civil society officials and residents told The Associated Press.
Néné Bintou, president of the civil society of South Kivu province, told the AP that the mining town of Nyabibwe was under the control of the M23. Nyabibwe is midway between Bukavu and Goma, the city the rebels seized last week and still control.
“They have taken over Nyabibwe since this morning from 9 a.m.," said Moïse Bisimwa, a resident reached by phone. “So we are here, we are worried about the situation. The ceasefire that was declared by the M23 is just smoke and mirrors.” “The RDF/M23 Coalition is violating the unilaterally declared ceasefire and is facing fierce resistance from the FARDC around Nyabibwe,” the Congolese authorities said in a statement. The RDF stands for Rwandan Defense Forces or Rwanda's military.
The M23 rebels on Monday announced the ceasefire on humanitarian grounds after pleas for the safe passage of aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people. But Congo's government has described the ceasefire as “false communication," and the United Nations has noted reports of heavy fighting with Congolese forces in the mineral-rich region.
“The RDF/M23 unilateral ceasefire was nothing but a Rwandan lie. Troops crossed the great barrier of Goma at night to attack the city of Nyabibwe,” the Congolese authorities said in a statement.
Goma remains “under occupation” by Congo's M23 rebels and the ceasefire they announced has been broken as their forces engage in heavy fighting along the main route to South Kivu's main city Bukavu, the U.N.'s deputy representative in Congo, Vivian van de Perre said Wednesday. M23 rebels are now approximately 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Bukavu, she added.
Van de Perre said all exit routes from Goma and its airport are under the control of the M23 and Rwandan military forces backing them, and movements of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as MONUSCO in the city have been restricted.
She said reopening the damaged Goma airport is critical for ongoing civilian and humanitarian use. The United Nations is also “gravely concerned” at losing Bukavu's Kavumu airport, which is now used by Congo's military, she said.
