Fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has resulted in the deaths of more than 7,000 people since January, with a “significant” number of civilians among the casualties, according to Prime Minister Judith Suminwa.
Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Switzerland on Monday, Suminwa described the security situation in eastern DRC as “alarming.”
She revealed that approximately 3,000 of the fatalities occurred in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and that over 2,500 bodies had been buried without identification, with another 1,500 still in morgues.
“There is a significant mass of civilians who are part of these dead,” Suminwa emphasized.
Since January, the M23 rebel group, which is supported by Rwanda, has seized large areas of eastern DRC, including the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.
The rapid advance of the rebels has raised concerns globally, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres warning that the escalating conflict could destabilize the entire region.
