DRC: Funeral held for victims of drone strike blamed on govt forces

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group held Thursday a symbolic burial for 22 civilians killed in a drone strike earlier this month in the North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Twenty-two coffins were displayed in front of the residents of Goma and the families of the victims, who attended the ceremony as the war continues to kill and displace people.

Women could be seen crying and shouting in front of the coffins.

“We lost comrades, friends, loved ones. My little sister died too. She had gone to Masisi to work, and then she died there”, said Mireille Kasole, sibling and close friend of a victim.

The rebel group M23, supported by Rwanda, which has occupied a large part of eastern Congo for a year, has accused the Congolese government of drone attack.

“Mr. (Félix) Tshisekedi (President of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and his tribal regime have killed. He (Tshisekedi) killed without seeing, he killed without hearing the cries, he killed without distinguishing between the enemy and the innocent”, said Corneille Nangaa, a coordinator for M23.

The Congolese government has neither acknowledged nor admitted to carrying out the strike.

More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23.

The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, according to the U.N. agency for refugees.

Despite the signing of the Washington agreement and the continuation of the Doha process, fighting continues on several fronts in eastern DRC, continuing to claim numerous civilian and military casualties.