The M23 rebel group has announced that 874 people were confirmed dead in the fighting that led to its capture of the city of Goma earlier this year in January.
This was revealed on Monday during a press briefing held by the group.
In January of this year, M23 seized control of Goma after expelling a coalition of forces composed of the Congolese army (FARDC), the FDLR, Burundian troops, SADC forces, Wazalendo militias, and white mercenaries.
Following the capture of the city, several organizations, including Amnesty International, accused M23 of committing mass killings in Goma, alleging that more than 3,000 people had been killed.
Delion Kimpulumpu, the Permanent Secretary of the AFC coalition, which includes M23, told journalists that the accusations against M23 for killing all those people “have no basis.”
He stated: “The death toll of 3,000 mentioned by Kinshasa appears to be an exaggeration.”
M23 said that between February 2 and 13, a total of 874 bodies were found in Goma before being buried.
The group’s president, Bertrand Bisimwa, stated that “more than 90% of those who died were combatants, including members of AFC/M23, those from the government coalition forces, and other armed individuals.”
M23 also claimed it should not be blamed for the tragic incident on the morning of January 27, when some prisoners at Munzenze Prison escaped and set some of their fellow inmates on fire. The group said this incident occurred before its troops entered Goma.
The rebel group also accused the Congolese government of continuing to do everything possible to destabilize security in Goma, Bukavu, and other areas under its control.
