By Cypridion Habimana.
The Human rights NGO Amnesty International denounces the use of so-called “explosive” weapons in areas inhabited by civilians in Goma in North Kivu.
Amnesty International mentions this in a report published this Monday, January 20, 2025, as fighting intensifies between the Congolese army, its allies and the M23 rebels, particularly in the territory of Masisi.
As written by Radio Okapi of UN Mission in Kinshasa, the organization claims in this document that over the past 7 months, imprecise explosive weapons with a wide impact radius have been used in densely populated areas more than 150 times, causing more than 100 deaths and more than 200 injuries.
Faced with an increase in fighting, this human rights organization calls on the warring parties to put an end to these attacks against civilians.
According to Jean-Mobert Nsenga, researcher at Amnesty International, most attacks against civilians were carried out in the first half of 2024: “In the first half of 2024 alone, they carried out more than 150 attacks with weapons explosives such as rockets, mortars, bombs dropped by plane or drone and even missiles. This resulted in the death of at least 100 civilians and the injury of around 200 others.”
He goes on to explain that when these weapons are used in populated areas, they are likely to have indiscriminated effects and cannot be precisely aimed at a specific military target, as required by International humanitarian law. Hence his appeal to the parties to the conflicts:
“we call on both parties to immediately cease attacks against Civilians and to stop using explosive weapons with a wide impact radius in populated areas.”
This Amnesty International report is made public as fighting intensifies in the territory of Masisi (North Kivu).
During the single day of Sunday January 19, around twenty shells fell on civilian targets in the capital of the territory and the city of Sake (located 30 Km from Goma), killing at least one person and one injured civilian, particulary in Masisi center.
