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Since 26 January, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 2,880 injured in attacks by the M23 and their allies \u201cwith heavy weapons used in populated areas, and intense fighting against the armed forces of the DRC and their allies\u201d, the High Commissioner said, as UN Member States weighed setting up a fact-finding mission to investigate extreme rights violations<\/strong> still being committed in the DRC provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.<\/p>\n Hostilities have continued unabated in this mineral-rich region that has been unstable for decades amid a proliferation of armed groups, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Fighting escalated in late January when majority-Tutsi M23 fighters seized control of parts of North Kivu, including areas near Goma, and advanced towards South Kivu and the eastern DRC\u2019s second city of Bukavu.<\/p>\n A draft resolution circulated before the Special Session \u2013 the 37th<\/sup> since the Council was created in 2006 – also condemned Rwanda\u2019s military support of the M23 armed group and called for both Rwanda and M23 to halt their advance<\/strong> and to allow lifesaving humanitarian access immediately.<\/p>\n Addressing the emergency session, Mr. T\u00fcrk noted that\u00a0two hospitals in Goma\u00a0had been\u00a0bombed on 27 January, killing and injuring multiple patients, including women and children.<\/p>\n In a mass prison break at Muzenze Prison in Goma on the same day, at least 165 female inmates were reportedly raped and most were later killed in a fire<\/strong> under suspicious circumstances,\u00a0he said, citing the\u00a0authorities.<\/p>\n \u201cI am horrified by the spread of sexual violence, which has been an appalling feature of this conflict for a long time<\/strong>. This is likely to worsen in the current circumstances,\u201d the UN rights chief continued, adding that UN staff were now verifying multiple allegations of rape, gang rape and sexual slavery in eastern DRC\u2019s conflict zones.<\/p>\n Echoing those concerns, Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC and chief of UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) told the Council that dead bodies still lie in the streets of Goma, which M23 fighters now control. The situation is \u201ccatastrophic\u201d, she continued.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I am speaking, youth are being subjected to forced recruitments and human rights defenders, civil society actors and journalists have also become a major population at risk<\/strong>. MONUSCO continues to receive requests for individual protection from them as well as from judicial authorities under threat and at risk of reprisals from M23 in areas under its control.\u201d<\/p>\n She issued a stark warning on the health risks linked to ongoing fighting, \u201cespecially the resurgence of cholera and the high risk of mpox, the sudden interruption of children’s schooling, and the rise of conflict-related sexual violence and gender-based violence<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n According to latest reports, medical personnel face electricity cuts and lack fuel for their generators for basic services, including morgues, Ms. Keita continued. \u201cI again call on international community to advocate for humanitarian assistance to reach Goma immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to the ongoing crisis,\u00a0DRC\u2019s Minister of Communications and Media, Patrick Muyaya Katembwe,\u00a0spoke out against the\u00a0continued logistical, military and financial support\u00a0of countries including Rwanda \u201cto armed groups operating on our territory\u201d.<\/p>\n The minister maintained that Rwanda’s support for the M23 had fuelled the violence in eastern DRC \u201cfor more than 30 years, exacerbating the war for reasons linked to the exploitation of the strategic mining resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo\u201d.<\/p>\n Dismissing that claim, Ambassador James Ngango of Rwanda to the UN in Geneva, insisted that a\u00a0large-scale attack against Rwanda was \u201cimminent\u201d.<\/p>\n He accused the \u201cKinshasa-backed coalition\u201d of stockpiling a large number of weapons and military equipment near Rwanda\u2019s border, mostly in or around Goma airport.<\/p>\n \u201cThese weapons include rockets, kamikaze drones, heavy artillery guns capable of shooting precisely within the Rwandan territory. The weapons were not turned at the theatre of operations against the M23, rather they were pointed directly at Rwanda,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Highlighting the need for international efforts to end the long-running conflict, Mr. T\u00fcrk called for greater understanding of the political and economic background.<\/p>\nHospitals targeted<\/strong><\/h2>\n
MONUSCO role<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Countries respond<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2018We are all implicated\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n