12 Killed Including Children in Bombing of Democratic Congo Refugee Camp

More than 20 Injured... Most Victims Are Women and Children

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Bomb attacks on two refugee camps in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) have killed at least 12 people, including children.

Major foreign media outlets such as the Associated Press reported on the 3rd (local time) that bombs fell on two refugee camps located in Rakbeurt and Mugunga near Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in eastern DR Congo, killing 12 people and injuring more than 20. The relief organization Save the Children stated that children were among the deceased and that most of the injured were women and children. Felix Tshisekedi, the president of DR Congo, who was touring Europe, advanced his return schedule following the bomb attacks.

A spokesperson for the DR Congo military claimed that the attack was carried out by the Tutsi rebel group M23, but M23 denied the accusation. The United Nations condemned the attack as "a clear violation of human rights and international humanitarian law," stating that it "may constitute a war crime."

In eastern DR Congo, over 120 armed groups, including M23 and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), have appeared, maintaining an unstable situation. In particular, M23, composed of Tutsi people from the same ethnic group as the ruling power in Rwanda, resumed armed attacks in the east starting November 2021.

DR Congo has pointed to neighboring Rwanda as the backer of M23, a view supported by the United Nations and Western countries. However, Rwanda has denied these allegations.