(Reuters) – Over 2,000 bodies require burial in Goma after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took over the Democratic of Congo city last week, inflaming a decade-old conflict and humanitarian crisis, Congo’s communications minister Patrick Muyaya said late on Monday.
Relative calm has returned to Goma, where the rebel alliance that includes M23 declared a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons starting on Tuesday.
But some residents still reported sporadic shooting and looting and the scale of the civilian cost is still emerging after reports of people caught in crossfire, overwhelmed hospitals and bodies lying on the street.
Muyaya told a news briefing the number of bodies to be buried “gave an overview of massacres committed in the city”.
Goma, east Congo’s largest city and capital of North Kivu province, is home to lucrative gold, coltan and tin mines. The United Nations said at least 900 people were killed and almost 3,000 injured in days of fighting that led up to its capture.
M23 is the latest in a long line of Rwandan-backed rebel movements to emerge in Congo’s volatile eastern borderlands following two successive wars stemming from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Rwanda denies supporting the well-trained and heavily armed Tutsi-led group.
The escalation last month worsened a humanitarian crisis that has driven hundreds of thousands to seek shelter in Goma after fleeing fighting between M23 and Congolese troops.
More than 700,000 people were displaced in Goma last month, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.
The U.N. has accused both the M23 and the Congolese army of recent human rights abuses, including summary executions and rape. They have not responded to requests for comment.
In Goma, aid groups have been helping authorities relieve overflowing hospital morgues and bury bodies amid concerns of disease spreading.
“The land where bodies can be buried in Goma is extremely limited,” said Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross sub-delegation in Goma.
She noted that days without power last week affected refrigeration at morgues and that it was a “race against time” to identify bodies.
The top U.N. aid official in Congo, Bruno Lemarquis, called on Tuesday for the urgent reopening of Goma’s airport to allow for humanitarian flights.
TENTATIVE CEASEFIRE
A rebel-alliance that includes the M23 has vowed to restore order and said it had no intention of capturing Bukavu, South Kivu’s provincial capital, following reports of M23 fighters pushing towards it.
Congo army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge and Muyaya expressed scepticism about the ceasefire.
M23 “say one thing and always do the opposite,” Ekenge told Reuters. “They call for a ceasefire to reorganise and reinforce their ranks.”
Congo’s members of parliament and senators are expected to hold a joint session on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
Eastern and southern African leaders are also scheduled to meet in Tanzania this week to discuss the conflict. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said he would attend the summit. Congo’s government has not replied to requests for comment on whether President Felix Tsisekedi would take part.
Goma’s capture sparked a burst of diplomatic activity and international condemnations.
Muyaya on Monday asked for more concrete actions and sanctions on Rwanda, which says it is acting in self-defence and to protect ethnic Tutsis. Congo accuses Rwanda of using M23 to pillage valuable minerals.
Congo’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning gynaecologist Denis Mukwege accused the international community of continuing to support Rwanda despite several U.N. reports on its involvement in east Congo’s conflicts and mineral resources.
“It is a policy of double-standards,” Mukwege said on X.
(Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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