By Georgianne Nienaber
7/25/13
Congolese Army (FARDC) helicopter gunships, piloted by Ukrainian soldiers from high altitudes, inflicted heavy civilian casualties near the village of Rumangabo in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday.
President Bertrand Bisimwa of the rebel M23 political and military movement said the attack on the rebel-held Rumangabo camp, 25 miles north of Goma, killed five civilians, according to the Washington Post.
M23 has provided photos to the international community that show many more casualties, many of them children. (The photos are too graphic to publish)"(The helicopters) have been over Rumangabo for the last two hours. It seems there have been quite a number of victims," said Emmanuel De Merode, chief warden at the Virunga National Park, which has its headquarters a few kilometres from the camp. He said 10 civilians wounded in the strikes had been admitted to the park's infirmary. One man lost his leg, and two children were seriously injured by shrapnel, he added. The rest of the victims were not seriously wounded.