---
title: "7,000 killed since January in fighting in DRC, says Congo prime minister"
description: "GENEVA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Some 7,000 people have died since January in fighting in 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."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Congo conflict"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-24-7000-killed-since-january-in-fighting-in-drc-says-congo-prime-minister/"
published: "2025-02-24T12:38:49"
updated: "2025-02-24T12:38:50"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 141
---

# 7,000 killed since January in fighting in DRC, says Congo prime minister

> GENEVA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Some 7,000 people have died since January in fighting in 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.

By Reuters · Published 24 February 2025, 14:38 SAST · Updated 24 February 2025, 14:38 SAST

## Key points
- As the M23 rebels wreak havoc in eastern Congo, leaving 450,000 people homeless and the world grappling with cries for help, Rwanda insists it’s just a bystander in this tragic game of geopolitical musical chairs.
- Over 450,000 people are displaced after the destruction of 90 camps in eastern Congo.
- The M23 group's advance marks the most serious escalation in the region's conflict in over a decade.
- Rwanda denies accusations of supporting M23 with arms and troops amid rising tensions.
- UN officials urge global action and sanctions in response to severe human rights abuses in the DRC.

## Content

Some 450,0000 people are without shelter after 90 displacement camps were destroyed, Judith Suminwa Tuluka added.

The M23's advance is the gravest escalation in more than a decade of the long-running conflict in eastern Congo.

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

The prime minister urged the world to act and to impose "dissuasive sanctions" amid mass displacements and summary executions.

"It is impossible to describe the screams and cries of millions of victims of this conflict", she added.

In the opening remarks at the 58th UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, [UN chief Antonio Guterres](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N3PF0G4&linkedFromStory=true) said that human rights around the world are being "suffocated" and referred to horrifying human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by Miranda Murray)