OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
3:03 PM – Thursday, February 6, 2025
Escaped male prisoners set fire to a female wing of a prison in Goma, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, last week—raping and killing 165 female inmates, according to a United Nations spokesperson who highlighted the tragedy on Wednesday.
The majority of the 165 female inmates who were sexually assaulted by fugitive male convicts later perished in the fire, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango further announced to the press.
Magango, who cited a DRC court source, also informed the media that only nine to thirteen female prisoners, “all of whom had also been raped,” did in fact survive the fire.
The UN-sponsored Radio Okapi announced on Monday that the male prisoners, some of whom were killed by prison guards, planned a mass breakout on January 27th while Congolese soldiers and the M23 rebel group fought for control of Goma.
UN peacekeepers claim that they had been barred from entering the site by the M23 rebels.
“There was a major prison breakout of 4,000 escaped prisoners. A few hundred women were also in that prison… They were all raped and then they [male prisoners] set fire to the women’s wing. They all died afterwards,” stated Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Protection and Operations — UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It further stated that the Muzenze prison, where the prisoners were being held, was now “completely empty” and in ruins after the at least 4,000 inmates broke out that day.
However, the announcement did not specify how exactly they were able to achieve the coordinated prison break — with most assuming that the rebel group was responsible.
The rape of the 165 women was later verified by DRC communications minister Patrick Muyaya, who told the press on Wednesday that “the government condemns [this] with the greatest energy, this barbaric crime.”
The mass rapes and murders are reminiscent of the DRC’s decades-long history of sexual violence, and the disturbing crimes reportedly reach even the highest echelons of the country. For example, the DRC’s army and its allies have been implicated in a number of allegations of sexual abuse, the UN Human Rights Office highlighted on Friday.
“We are verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including alleged reports of gang rape,” said Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Following ongoing fighting with government forces that resulted in the deaths of almost 3,000 people, the M23 rebel group, which has claimed to have taken over the city of Goma — demanded an urgent ceasefire this week, according to CNN.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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