Korede Abdullah in Lagos
A devastating incident has occurred in the Congolese city of Goma, where over 100 female inmates were brutally raped and burned alive during a jailbreak.
The incident happened after M23 rebels captured the city and freed male prisoners, who then rampaged through the jail, attacking the women’s wing.
“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 set fire to the women’s wing. They all died afterwards,” said Vivian van de Perre, deputy head of the UN peacekeeping force in Goma.
The UN estimates that between 165 and 167 women died, as well as 28 young children, during the horrific incident. The male prisoners, who were freed by the M23 fighters, set the jail ablaze, burning many women alive.
Video images show the devastating aftermath of the incident, with acrid black smoke rising from the prison complex and people fleeing amidst heavy gunfire.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation across the world.
