HEAVY battles between M23 fighters and Congolese government forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) city of Goma have left many bodies on the streets, with hospitals struggling to deal with the growing number of casualties.
In the capital Kinshasa, protesters criticising international inaction attacked the embassies of Rwanda, France, Belgium and the United States on Tuesday.
On Monday, the rebels, which the United Nations says are backed by Rwanda, marched into Goma and declared the key city under their control, signalling a big blow to the Congolese army and a serious escalation in the years-long conflict that has killed hundreds and displaced millions in the region.
DRC’s Rural Development Minister Muhindo Nzangi said the Congolese army controlled 80 percent of Goma, with Rwandan troops either on the city’s outskirts or back across the border.
At a news briefing on Tuesday, the UN and other aid agencies warned that hospitals are overwhelmed in Goma, treating hundreds of patients with gunshot, mortar and shrapnel wounds while many bodies lie in the streets.
“There are currently hundreds of people in hospital, most admitted with gunshot wounds,” said Adelheid Marschang, WHO’s emergency response coordinator for the DRC.
At least 17 people were killed in Goma on Monday, and the AFP news agency reported quoting hospital sources that doctors in the city were treating 367 people wounded in the clashes. Civil society members and NGOs working in Goma put the death toll at 25, with 375 people wounded.
Greg Ramm, country director for Save the Children in DRC, said on Tuesday that while “we have reports that neighbourhoods are calm, a few minutes later, we hear reports of new shelling”.
Heavy small arms fire and mortar fire continued in the streets, where many dead bodies could be seen, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, also said at a press briefing, citing reports from UN staff in the city.
Kenya’s principal secretary for foreign affairs, Korir Sing’Oei, condemned attacks on Kenyan, Ugandan and South African embassies by “marauding protesters who are voicing their discontent”.
The US embassy in Kinshasa advised citizens to “shelter in place and avoid movements”. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned the “unacceptable” attack, saying a fire in the French embassy building was now under control.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme said food assistance activities in and around Goma “have been temporarily paused” and expressed concern over food shortages.
Also on Tuesday, South Africa confirmed three of its soldiers had died in the fighting on Monday after getting “caught in the crossfire”. It added that another soldier killed in the recent fighting had also died on Monday, bringing the number of deaths in the past week to 13.
