Over 150 female prisoners were raped and charred to death in a catastrophic jailbreak incident last week when fleeing male inmates set fire to Muzenze prison in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a United Nations spokesperson.
Seif Magango, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, said that 165 female inmates were raped by escapees, most of whom died in the fire. Between nine and 13 women survived, and all had been sexually assaulted. Magango also quoted a judicial source in the DRC saying that the UN did not verify the report on its own but found the account credible.
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The mass breakout happened on January 27 when the M23 rebel group was fighting Congolese forces over Goma’s control. The prison guards shot some of the male inmates while escaping, but more than 4,000 detainees managed to escape and the facility was abandoned and destroyed according to UN-sponsored Radio Okapi.
DRC Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya confirmed the sexual violence allegations, denouncing the “barbaric crime” in a statement. The atrocity is a grim reminder of the continuous use of sexual violence as a weapon in the region’s protracted conflict.
In a related development, the UN Human Rights Office reported more claims of sexual violence by Congolese troops and their allied forces. According to UN spokesman Jeremy Laurence, investigators are checking reports that government troops raped 52 women in South Kivu, some of whom suffered gang rape.
Meanwhile, the M23 rebel group, which claims to have taken Goma, has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, citing heavy clashes that have resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths.
