HARARE, February 14. /TASS/. At least 4,000 people have died and more than 4,200 more people have received injuries in the fighting between the Congolese army and rebels from the March 23 Movement (M23) in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country’s health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba, said.
"Since the outbreak of fighting on January 21, 2025, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee the zone of hostilities. Many are sick and wounded," he said as cited by the Actualite news portal. "Regrettably, we don’t have exact data because many regions, for instance, Nyiragongo, are almost inaccessible. According to the latest data, as many as 4,260 people have been reported as wounded. As many as 939 bodies are in morgues and 458 bodies have been buried. This is in addition to the 3,000 people who were reportedly killed in Goma."
The minister also said that there is a shortage of medicine and surgical dressings. The government is working to deliver medical supplies and equipment to Goma via Nairobi (Kenya) and Kigali (Rwanda).
M23 units, backed by the Rwandan army, seized the city of Goma, the capital of the DR Congo’s North Kivu province, in late January and advanced toward Bukavu, the capital city of the neighboring South Kivu province. On Monday, M23 announced a humanitarian ceasefire. Earlier, the rebel group announced its plans to move toward the DRC capital city of Kinshasa.