Julienne Zaina Barabara, a resident of the Katoyi neighbourhood, said one of her children was killed last week and two others were wounded by flying shrapnel when an explosive device hit near their home.
“We took them to hospital, where one of them died after three hours. The other two are still receiving treatment. They had scans and one still has shrapnel in his head.”
Aid groups have been helping authorities deal with overflowing hospital morgues and bury bodies amid concerns of disease spreading.
Days without power last week affected refrigeration at morgues, leading to a “race against time” to identify bodies, said Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross subdelegation in Goma.
“The land where bodies can be buried in Goma is limited,” she added.
The dramatic escalation of the decade-old insurgency has fanned fears of a broader regional war. It has also displaced about 700,000 in and about Goma, the World Food Programme said on Monday.
WATCH | As Goma ceasefire largely holds, DRC rushes to bury bodies from rebel offensive
Image: Reuters/Arlette Bashizi
Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) largest city Goma began a ceasefire on Tuesday and residents rushed to bury about 2,000 victims of last week's battles for the city as they feared the spread of disease.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who captured Goma declared a ceasefire on Monday and have largely upheld it, though some residents reported sporadic shooting and looting on Tuesday.
People in the city took stock of bombed-out buildings and tried to clear overflowing morgues. More than 2,000 bodies require burial, communications minister Patrick Muyaya said overnight.
The UN has said at least 900 people were killed and almost 3,000 injured in the days of fighting that led up to Goma's capture. It was unclear why the UN and the DRC's death tolls varied.
The scale of the civilian harm is still emerging, with reports of people caught in the crossfire, overwhelmed hospitals and bodies left in the street.
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Julienne Zaina Barabara, a resident of the Katoyi neighbourhood, said one of her children was killed last week and two others were wounded by flying shrapnel when an explosive device hit near their home.
“We took them to hospital, where one of them died after three hours. The other two are still receiving treatment. They had scans and one still has shrapnel in his head.”
Aid groups have been helping authorities deal with overflowing hospital morgues and bury bodies amid concerns of disease spreading.
Days without power last week affected refrigeration at morgues, leading to a “race against time” to identify bodies, said Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross subdelegation in Goma.
“The land where bodies can be buried in Goma is limited,” she added.
The dramatic escalation of the decade-old insurgency has fanned fears of a broader regional war. It has also displaced about 700,000 in and about Goma, the World Food Programme said on Monday.
Top UN aid official in DRC Bruno Lemarquis called on Tuesday for the urgent reopening of Goma's airport to allow much-needed humanitarian flights.
For Goma, the ceasefire could help people in need to access aid.
“These families have suffered so much in this war: no food, no passable roads,” said motorcycle driver Faustin Habimana, 28, who fled from the neighbouring town of Kivumba.
As relative calm prevailed, many locals in Goma were again going about their usual activities.
Street sellers in Katoyi hawked their wares next to a destroyed petrol station and torched cars. Elsewhere, blast-pocked buildings and twisted metal roofs showed the intensity of last week's clashes.
A rebel alliance that includes the M23 has vowed to restore order in Goma and said late on Monday it had no intention of capturing Bukavu, the provincial capital of neighbouring South Kivu, after reports of M23 fighters pushing towards it.
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Oxford Economics said in a note the announcement contradicted earlier statements from the rebels and could be an indication of tensions within the alliance.
DRC army spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge and Muyaya expressed scepticism about the ceasefire.
“They call for a ceasefire to reorganise and reinforce their ranks,” Ekenge said, referring to M23.
The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special meeting to address the situation, the UN said on Tuesday, while eastern and southern African leaders are scheduled to meet in Tanzania this week to discuss a way out of the crisis.
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said he would attend the summit. The DRC's government did not reply to requests for comment on whether President Felix Tshisekedi would take part.
Muyaya on Monday called for sanctions to be imposed on Rwanda for its role in the conflict. Rwanda says it is acting in self-defence and to protect ethnic Tutsis. DRC accuses Rwanda of using the M23 to pillage valuable deposits of gold, coltan, tin and other minerals.
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