Amid ceasefire, Goma residents race to bury 2,000 bodies

Amid ceasefire, Goma residents race to bury 2,000 bodies

As a result of a ceasefire, people in Goma, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, rushed to bury around 2, 000 of the city’s victims last week.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who captured Goma, declared a ceasefire on Monday and largely upheld it, though some residents reported sporadic shooting and looting on Tuesday.

People in the city attempted to clear overflowing garbage cans while taking stock of bombed-out buildings. More than 2, 000 bodies of people killed in last week’s conflict require burial in Goma, the DRC’s communications minister said overnight.

In the days leading up to Goma’s capture, according to the UN, at least 900 people died and almost 3, 000 were hurt in Goma’s fighting.

Reports of people being shot in the crossfire, overflowing hospitals, and bodies left in the street were all starting to show how serious the harm was to civilians.

One of her children was killed last week and two others were injured by flying shrapnel when an explosive struck near their home, according to Julienne Zaina Barabara, a resident of the Katoyi neighborhood.

One of them passed away after three hours in a hospital. The other two are still receiving treatment. They had scans, and one still has shrapnel in his head”.

The refrigeration at morgues was affected by last week’s power outages, which caused a “race against time,” according to Myriam Favier, head of the Red Cross’s International Committee in Goma.

Source: Aljazeera

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