(Reuters) – Rebels in eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, began a ceasefire on Tuesday and people rushed to bury some 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 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. Over 2,000 bodies of people killed in last week’s conflict require burial in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo’s communications minister said overnight.
The United Nations has said at least 900 people were killed and almost 3,000 injured in the days of fighting in Goma that led up to its capture. It was unclear why the U.N. and Congo’s death tolls varied.
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 others 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.”
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 sub-delegation in Goma.
“The land where bodies can be buried in Goma is extremely limited,” she added.
The dramatic escalation of the decade-old insurgency has fanned fears of a broader regional war. It has also displaced around 700,000 in and around Goma, the World Food Programme said on Monday.
The top U.N. aid official in Congo, 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.
CONGO SCEPTICAL OF REBELS
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, following reports of M23 fighters pushing towards it.
Oxford Economics said in a note the announcement contradicted earlier statements from the rebels and could be an indication of tensions within the alliance.
Congo army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge and Muyaya expressed scepticism about the ceasefire. “They call for a ceasefire to reorganise and reinforce their ranks,” Ekenge told Reuters, referring to M23.
The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold a special meeting to address the situation in Goma, the U.N. 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. Congo’s government did not reply to requests for comment on whether President Felix Tsisekedi 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. Congo accuses Rwanda of using the M23 to pillage valuable deposits of gold, coltan, tin and other minerals.
(Writing by Sofia Christensen, Anait Miridzhanian and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)
