Prison arson in the Democratic Republic of Congo has caused many deaths and 4,400 prisoners have escaped
According to Congolese media reports on the 27th, a prisoner arson incident occurred in the central prison in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in the east of the country, killing at least 10 people and escaping about 4,400 prisoners.
Okapi Radio quoted the prison director as saying that in the early morning of the 27th, some prisoners in the Muenzenze Central Prison in Goma took advantage of the chaos to set fire, and the fire continued to spread, killing at least 10 people and escaping about 4,400 prisoners.
In recent days, tensions in eastern Congo have escalated sharply. The anti-government armed organization “M23 Movement” has continuously launched offensives in North Kivu and occupied many key towns and key points. Since the evening of the 26th, government forces and the “M23 Movement” have been exchanging fire in Goma and surrounding areas. On the morning of the 27th, the conflict in Goma further escalated and spread to the border city of Rwanda. On the evening of the 26th, Congolese President Tshisekedi held a high-level security meeting in the capital Kinshasa to make arrangements for the situation in the east.
The UN Security Council urgently reviewed the Congolese issue on the 26th. On the same day, UN Secretary-General Guterres issued a statement through his spokesman’s office, expressing deep concern about the escalating violence in eastern Congo (DRC) and once again strongly condemning the “M23 Movement” for its continued attacks on Goma.