UN Reports Nearly 3,000 Killed After Rebels Capture Key City inUN Reports Nearly 3,000 Killed After Rebels Capture Key City in DR Congo

Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in Goma, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following its capture by rebels after intense fighting with the Congolese army, according to the United Nations.

Vivian van de Perre, deputy head of the UN mission in the DRC, reported on Wednesday that around 2,000 bodies have been recovered from the streets of Goma in recent days, with an additional 900 bodies remaining in local hospital morgues. She added that the death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are found, with some still decomposing in certain areas.

The bodies were retrieved after the rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), which includes the M23 armed group, declared a ceasefire on Tuesday in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the DRC government. However, the DRC government dismissed the ceasefire announcement as “false communication,” and heavy fighting was reported to be ongoing in South Kivu province.

The DRC, home to more than 100 million people, has long been plagued by violence stemming from ethnic tensions and competition for land and mineral resources, contributing to one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.