Goma, Feb 3: Hundreds of wounded people have poured into overcrowded hospitals in Goma, a major city in eastern Congo, as fighting rages on between government forces and the Rwanda-backed rebels who say they captured the city of around 2 million people.
“They will get infected before we can treat them all,” said Florence Douet, an operating room nurse, as she attended to patients with varying degrees of injuries.
Since the start of the M23 rebels’ offensive on Goma on Jan. 26, more than 700 people have been killed and nearly 3,000 have been wounded in the city and its vicinity, officials say. Bethesda hospital alone said it receives more than 100 new patients each day, overstretching its capacity of 250 beds.
Bethesda is one of several hospitals in Goma that The Associated Press visited that has inadequate personnel and supplies. The city hosts many of the close to 6.5 million people displaced by the conflict, which is one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
As more people arrived at the hospitals with gunshot wounds or shrapnel injuries, many were forced to share beds while others lay on the floor, writhing in pain from their wounds as they waited for medical attention.
“This is the first time I’m experiencing this. This war has caused a lot of damage, but at least we are still breathing,” said Patrick Bagamuhunda, who was wounded in the fighting.
Congo government has confirmed 773 deaths and 2,880 injured persons at morgues and hospitals. The toll could be higher, it said, citing fears of finding mass graves and more bodies. (AP)
Congo crisis: Hospitals crowded with wounded, exhausting their supplies
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