Death toll in Congo uprising nears 3,000 including scores of female inmates who were raped and burned alive with their children when women's jail was stormed: Corpses pile up in streets as Rwanda-backed rebels go on rampage
The death toll following a brutal storming from Rwandan-backed rebels in the Congolese city of Goma has neared 3,000 after hundreds of women were raped then burned alive during a mass jailbreak.
The atrocity saw female inmates slain in their wing in the notoriously overcrowded prison after men forced their way in and went on a rampage.
But speaking during a UN press briefing on Wednesday, Vivian van de Perre, the deputy head of the UN peacekeeping force in Goma revealed a staggering 2,900 bodies have been retrieved so far amid the chaos.
Ms Van de Perre said some 2,000 dead bodies had been collected from the streets of Goma in recent days, with another 900 left in hospital morgues.
Describing the carnage, she said the figure is expected to increase in the coming days.
'There are still many decomposing bodies in certain areas so the WHO is really worried about what kind of epidemic outbreaks that can contribute to,' Ms Van de Perre chillingly added.
During the mass jailbreak, thousands of male criminals managed to flee, but the area reserved for women was torched to the ground.
Images taken shortly after M23 fighters reached the centre of Goma showed vast plumes of black smoke rising from the jail on January 27, as long lines of men sprinted away from the inferno.
Ms Van de Perre added: 'They have not been able to verify firsthand all the numbers and what exactly transpired, again, because of the situation in Goma which makes it very difficult for us to go out and move around'.
Earlier reports suggested at least 141 jailed women were murdered, along with 28 young children who had been in detention with their mothers.
'There was a major prison breakout of 4,000 escaped prisoners. A few hundred women were also in that prisonโฆ They were all raped and then they set fire to the women's wing. They all died afterwards,' she said.
Local reports claim that during the mayhem, inmates were gunned down by guards as they attempted to stop the mass break out.
A week on from the rampage and the Munzenze jail lies in ruins and is completely empty, with the guards having deserted their posts.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14364821/Death-toll-Congo-atrocity-nears-3-000-Victims-horror-storming-Goma-saw-hundreds-women-raped-burned-alive-female-prison-ward-approaches-deadly-milestone.html