Africa

Red Cross helps DR Congo authorities recover bodies of people killed in army-M23 rebels clashes

'Managing dead bodies properly and with dignity, as difficult as that may be, is a humanitarian imperative,' says International Committee of the Red Cross official

Mevlüt Özkan  | 04.02.2025 - Update : 04.02.2025
Red Cross helps DR Congo authorities recover bodies of people killed in army-M23 rebels clashes

ISTANBUL

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and volunteers from the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) are assisting authorities in recovering the many bodies of people killed during fighting between the Congolese army and M23 rebels in eastern Goma.

The ICRC has provided supplies such as body bags, as well as technical and logistical support, to ensure that the dead are treated with dignity and properly managed so that the families can receive answers to their questions one day, according to a Red Cross statement issued on Tuesday.

“Managing dead bodies properly and with dignity, as difficult as that may be, is a humanitarian imperative. It enables us to identify more easily those who have died and to ease people’s suffering by being able to tell them what happened to their loved ones,” said Myriam Favier, the head of the ICRC’s sub-delegation in Goma.

After M23 rebels took control of Goma last week and later the Alliance Fleuve Congo, a rebel alliance that includes M23 rebels, declared a ceasefire beginning on Tuesday.

The rebels said the ceasefire was necessary due to humanitarian difficulties, accusing the Congo government of allegedly causing trouble for people.

The World Health Organization reported that over 900 people were killed in Goma over the last two weeks as a result of fighting between M23 rebels and government forces.

Since last week, at least 20 peacekeepers have been killed in eastern Congo, 14 of whom were South African.

Thousands of people have been displaced, with many fleeing to neighboring Rwanda, including UN and World Bank staff.

Separately, the UN humanitarian office said on Tuesday that life in parts of Congo is gradually returning to normal, but critical humanitarian access is still hampered by the airport's closure.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Congo urged all parties to mobilize to reopen Goma's airport.

In a related development, the equivalent of “20 large 40-foot containers of medicines were looted,” in the ICRC warehouse in Goma, the global humanitarian agency said on Tuesday said on X.

The ICRC also stated that while they are waiting for resupply, other humanitarian organizations in Goma are assisting them in caring for the injured.

“Restoring such a warehouse operational will take months and require very large investments,” it added.

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