Fighting in eastern DRC kills about 7,000 people since January, PM says | Conflict News

Judith Suminwa says more than 2,500 bodies buried without identification, ‘significant’ number of civilians among dead.

More than 7,000 people have been killed in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since last month, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa says, with a “significant” number of civilians among the dead.

Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Switzerland on Monday, Suminwa warned that “the security situation in eastern DRC has reached alarming levels”.

About 3,000 deaths were reported in Goma, the capital of the eastern DRC’s North Kivu province, the prime minister said.

She added that more than 2,500 bodies were buried without being identified while another 1,500 were still in morgues.

“There is a significant mass of civilians who are part of these dead,” Suminwa said.

Since January, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has captured swaths of the eastern DRC, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.

The group’s rapid offensive has prompted concern from world leaders, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who recently warned that the fighting could “push the entire region over the precipice”.

Rwanda has rejected allegations from the DRC, the UN and Western governments that it supports the rebels with weapons and troops.

During Monday’s address in Geneva, Suminwa urged the world to act and to impose “dissuasive sanctions” on Rwanda amid mass displacement and reports of summary executions.

“It is impossible to describe the screams and cries of millions of victims of this conflict,” she said.

Guterres also told the Human Rights Council that the situation in the country was “a deadly whirlwind of violence and horrifying human rights abuses”.

“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected,” the UN chief said. “As more cities fall, the risk of a regional war rises. It’s time to silence the guns.”

Rebel fighters took control of Bukavu just over a week ago after first capturing Goma last month.

About 40,000 people have fled the violence to neighbouring Burundi over a two-week span, the UN said on Friday.

The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of the eastern DRC’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth.

The rebels are supported by about 4,000 soldiers from neighbouring Rwanda, according to UN experts.