Amid ceasefire, Goma residents race to bury 2,000 bodies

People in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Goma rushed to bury some 2,000 victims of last week’s battles for the city as they feared the spread of disease amid a ceasefire.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who captured Goma, declared a ceasefire on Monday and 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 of people killed in last week’s conflict require burial in Goma, the DRC’s communications minister said overnight.

The United Nations said at least 900 people were killed and almost 3,000 injured in the days of fighting in Goma leading up to its capture.

The scale of the civilian harm was still emerging with reports of people caught in the crossfire, overwhelmed hospitals and bodies left in the street.

Julienne Zaina Barabara, a resident of the Katoyi neighbourhood, said one of her children was killed last week and two were wounded by flying shrapnel when an explosive hit near their home.

“We took them all 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.”

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 sub-delegation in Goma.

“The land where bodies can be buried in Goma is extremely limited,” she added.