East Drc Rebels Abduct At Least 130 Hospital Patients: Un

M23 rebels launching an offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo DRC abducted at least 130 sick and wounded men from two hospitals in the city of Goma last week, the United Nations UN said Monday.

M23 fighters raided CBCA Ndosho Hospital and Heal Africa Hospital during the night of February 28, taking 116 and 15 patients respectively, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.

The abducted men were suspected of being Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers or members of a pro-government militia known as Wazalendo.

It is deeply distressing that M23 is snatching patients from hospital beds in coordinated raids and holding them incommunicado in undisclosed locations, Shamdasani said, calling for their immediate release.

M23 spokespersons Willy Ngoma and Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston did not immediately respond to a request for comment.