At least 111 bodies of civilians, rebels, and soldiers have been recovered between Wednesday and Thursday in the streets of Goma, following fierce battles between the Congolese Army and the M23 rebel group, which seized the strategic city on Monday, a local civil society leader confirmed.

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“We are working with the Red Cross, and I must admit the toll is very high. In these two days, we have already collected over a hundred bodies, but we have not yet reached all neighborhoods of the city,” said Mario Ngavho, president of Goma’s civil society, in a phone call with EFE.

Ngavho emphasized that the death toll remains provisional, as clashes continue in areas still held by government forces. “Yesterday and today, we could have reached 111 bodies,” he added.

Most of the deceased were shot and killed during the past three days of violence, marked by the M23’s rapid takeover of Goma.

Mass Casualties and Overwhelmed Hospitals

The Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is leading the effort to recover and bury the bodies.

• Vehicles marked with Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) emblems are patrolling the city and surrounding areas.
• The ICRC has set up a public hotline to report the presence of corpses on the streets, said Riguen Kimbale, the organization’s spokesperson in North Kivu.

With fighting intensifying, gunshot injuries have soared.

• More than 800 wounded people have been admitted to Ndosho Hospital in Goma, despite the facility’s 146-bed capacity.
• Looting has affected medical storage, worsening the crisis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that Goma’s hospitals are overwhelmed and struggling to cope with casualties.

• At least 2,029 wounded people have been treated in hospitals and other health centers.
• 45 deaths have been recorded in three health zones (Goma, Karisimbi, and Nyiragongo) in North Kivu.

M23 Rebels and the Longstanding Conflict in Eastern DRC

The M23 rebellion reignited in November 2021, launching swift offensives against the Congolese Army and allied militias in North Kivu.

• The rebel group has since captured vast territories, culminating in its seizure of Goma, a city of about two million people that houses international NGOs and UN agencies.
• M23 previously occupied Goma in 2012 for ten days before being driven out.

Since 1998, eastern DRC has remained mired in conflict, fueled by rebel militias, ethnic tensions, and foreign interventions, despite the presence of the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO).

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