DRC: the death toll from the bombing of the displaced persons camp in Goma climbs

The death toll from the attack on the Mugunga displaced persons camp in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has risen to 35 dead, according to authorities. The DRC has seized the UN Security Council, accusing Rwanda of war crimes and attempted genocide.

Last Friday, an artillery strike devastated the Mugunga displaced persons camp, west of the city of Goma, in eastern DRC. Initially announced at 9 deaths, the toll tragically increased to reach 35 victims, mainly injured people who succumbed to their injuries. The Congolese Minister of Social Affairs, Modeste Mutunga, confirmed this increase in the number of deaths in a statement to the media.

This attack occurs in a tense context when the city of Goma is threatened by the advance of the M23 rebels, supported by the Rwandan army according to the Congolese authorities, UN reports and Western chancelleries. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC, Christophe Lutundula, brought together the ambassadors accredited in Kinshasa to inform them that the country had seized the UN Security Council against Rwanda. Accusing the latter of war crimes, violation of international law and attempted genocide, the DRC warns against an alleged “sneaky genocide of Hutus in eastern DRC“.

Despite the M23's denials of their involvement in this attack and the responses described as “absurd” by the Rwandan authorities, the condemnation of this attack by several parties, including the United States, France, the European Union and the African Union, underlines the scale of the tragedy and the urgency of international action.