Fighting In Congo Has Killed 7 000 Since January: Pm

Some 7 000 people have died since January in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the prime minister of the DRC told a high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, with combatants and civilians among the dead.

About 3 000 deaths were reported in Goma, Judith Suminwa said, and about 450,0000 people were left without shelter after 90 displacement camps were destroyed.

Since January, the M23 rebel group, which Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing, has captured swathes of eastern Congo including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, and valuable mineral deposits.

The latest fighting, and M23s advance, are part of a major escalation in eastern Congo of a conflict over power, identity and resources dating back to the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s.

Rwanda rejects allegations from Congo, the United Nations and Western powers that it supports M23 rebels with arms and troops.