7,000 dead since January in DR Congo conflict, PM Suminwa reveals

Since January, approximately 7,000 people have died in the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Prime Minister of the DRC, Judith Suminwa, who spoke at a high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

This figure includes both combatants and civilians.

In Goma alone, about 3,000 deaths have been reported. Additionally, approximately 450,000 individuals have been left without shelter following the destruction of 90 displacement camps.

The M23 rebel group, which the DRC government accuses Rwanda of supporting, has taken control of large areas in eastern Congo, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, alongside valuable mineral deposits.

The recent fighting and the advance of the M23 are part of a significant escalation in a conflict that has deep roots in power struggles, identity issues, and resources, dating back to the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s.

Rwanda denies the allegations from Congo, the United Nations, and Western nations that it provides military support to the M23 rebels.

Suminwa called on the international community to take action by imposing “dissuasive sanctions” on Rwanda in the face of mass displacements and summary executions.

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

UN chief Antonio Guterres, at the Geneva meeting, said human rights around the world were being “suffocated” and made reference to horrifying abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“If this question of the violation of territorial integrity isn’t resolved, the situation could degenerate,” Suminwa told Reuters in a press briefing after her address to the Council.

About 40,000 people have fled to Burundi, one of the nine countries that borders the DRC, in two weeks to escape the fighting, the U.N. said on Friday.

Suminwa warned that the worsening security situation with M23 and other armed groups could spill over to neighbouring countries, posing a danger to them.

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