Goma residents rushes to bury bodies after M23 rebel offensive

By Our Correspondent, GOMA DR Congo 

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.