GOMA, May 04 (AP): Attacks on two camps for displaced people in eastern Congo's North Kivu province on Friday killed at least 12 people, including children, according to local officials, an aid group and the United Nations.
The U.N. said in a statement that bombs hit two camps for displaced people in Lac Vert and Mugunga, near the city of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu.
The U.N. called the attacks a "flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime".
Lt. Colonel Ndjike Kaiko, a Congolese army spokesperson, blamed the attacks on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press.
The M23 rebel group denied any role in the attacks and blamed Congolese forces in a statement published on X.
Details from the area were still emerging on Friday.
A U.N. spokesperson, Jean Jonas Yaovi Tossa, told the AP that at least 12 people were killed and more than 20 injured in the attacks.
Save The Children, an aid group, said it was present at one of the camps when shells struck close to a busy marketplace ahead of their vehicle. It said dozens were injured, mostly women and children, and the death toll was still unclear.
Congo's president, Felix Tshisekedi, who was traveling in Europe, decided to return home Friday following the bombings, a statement from his office said.
Bomb kills 12 at displacement camps in E Congo
FE Team | Published: May 04, 2024 21:38:32
Bomb kills 12 at displacement camps in E Congo
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