Kinshasa/Goma, January 28 — UN aid agencies Tuesday warned of a major humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, eastern city of Goma, with hundreds wounded, bodies lying in the streets, and an upsurge in rape and gender-based violence.
The UN refugee agency reports hundreds of thousands of displaced, fleeing “multiple active conflict zones”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its hospital received over 100 wounded in just 24 hours, a number it previously received over the course of a month, forcing staff to turn the hospital car park into a triage unit.
The use of heavy artillery in densely populated areas is causing severe injuries, particularly among children.
Rebels seized the airport of east Congo’s largest city Goma on Tuesday, potentially cutting off the main route for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people, after capturing the city on Monday in an offensive that left dead bodies lying in the streets.
Both the ICRC and the World Food Programme say their warehouses have been looted in recent days.
The official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cafod, has described the situation in Goma as “very serious”.
“Our staff on the ground tell us water and electricity have been cut off and food prices are rising. They say the city has been forced into shutdown by the fighting,” it said in a statement.
Cafod added that the humanitarian needs in Goma are huge.
“Our staff are responding with what they have and we will be scaling up our response as soon as possible. We urge all parties to ensure that access to humanitarian aid can continue in Goma,” it added.
In the Congolese capital Kinshasa, 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west of Goma, protesters attacked a U.N. compound and embassies including those of Rwanda, France and the United States, expressing anger at what they said was foreign interference. Looters ransacked the embassy of Kenya.
Protesters attack foreign Embassies in Kinshasa as Police fire teargas to disperse them
Goma is a major hub for people displaced by fighting elsewhere in eastern Congo and aid groups seeking to assist them.
According to the French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, part of the country’s embassy was set on fire.
Police have fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who have burnt tyres and are chanting songs against the M23 rebels.
Parts of Kinshasa are practically deserted – schools and shops are closed.
Earlier on Tuesday, a group of civil society activists called on people to stay at home and observe a ghost town as a sign of solidarity with government forces fighting to protect Goma.
A total of 13 peacekeepers from South Africa are known to have been killed fighting M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Confirmation came that three of the soldiers died in battle at the airport in Goma on Monday while the fourth soldier died from injuries sustained during a major clash with the rebels last Thursday.
Malawi and Uruguay have also lost peacekeepers.
Just across the border in Rwanda, trucks were unloading large numbers of people fleeing Goma with their children and bundles of possessions wrapped in pieces of fabric.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s government and the head of U.N. peacekeeping have said Rwandan troops were present in Goma, backing up their M23 allies. Rwanda has said it is defending itself against the threat from Congolese militias, without directly commenting on whether its troops have crossed the border.
