By Rorisang Modiba
- About 7,000 people have died in eastern DRC since January due to fighting between government forces and M23 rebels.
- Nearly half a million people have lost their homes as violence continues despite international calls for peace.
Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed about 7,000 people since January, according to DRC Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
Speaking at a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Tuluka addressed the crisis caused by the conflict.
About 450,000 people have no shelter after 90 displacement camps were destroyed.
The violence worsened at the start of the year when M23 launched a rapid attack, capturing the major cities of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.
Despite global calls for the fighting to stop, it continues to escalate. In Goma alone, nearly 3,000 people have been killed, and hospitals are full of patients with gunshot wounds.
Last week, the UN human rights office said M23 rebels killed three children in Bukavu, while on Sunday, DRC’s communications minister, Patrick Muyaya, reported that M23 and Rwandan forces killed more than a dozen people in Goma.
The conflict has also forced many people to flee, with over 40,000—mostly women and children—escaping to Burundi in February, including 9,000 in a single day.
Pictured above: A family in Congo.
Image source: @UNICEFAfrica
