Over 150 female prisoners were subjected to rape and subsequently burned to death during a jailbreak last week, as male inmates set fire to a prison in Goma, located in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a spokesperson from the United Nations.
Seif Magango, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, informed CNN that the majority of the 165 female prisoners who were assaulted by the escaping male inmates perished in the fire.
Magango further noted that between nine and 13 female inmates, all of whom had also been victims of rape, managed to survive the inferno, referencing a judicial source from the DRC.
While we have not independently verified the report from the judicial official, we regard his account as credible, Magango stated during a CNN interview on Thursday.
The male inmates, some of whom were killed by prison guards, orchestrated a mass escape on January 27 amid clashes between the M23 rebel alliance and Congolese forces in Goma for control of the city, as reported by the UN-backed Radio Okapi on Monday.
The report indicated that over 4,000 detainees escaped from Muzenze prison that day, leaving the facility “completely empty” and in a state of disrepair.
DRC Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya has confirmed the assault of 165 women, stating to CNN on Wednesday that “the government strongly condemns this barbaric act.”
The incidents of killings and mass rape reflect the ongoing issue of conflict-related sexual violence that has afflicted the DRC for many years.
On Friday, the UN Human Rights Office reported receiving additional allegations of sexual violence involving the DRC’s military and its allied forces.
“We are in the process of verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including claims of gang rape,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement on Friday.
CNN has reached out to the Congolese military for their response to these allegations.
This week, the M23 rebel group, which claims to have taken control of the city of Goma, has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire following clashes with government forces that have resulted in nearly 3,000 fatalities.
