Crime, fear stalk M23-run areas

EVERY morning, the Congolese city of Bukavu, now under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 movement, counts its dead.

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Corpses are discovered at dawn, lying in the steep streets of the capital of South Kivu province, which has been in the hands of the anti-government group since mid-February after it launched a lightning offensive.

The Congolese administration deserted the area after the M23 fighters and their Rwandan allies seized the city in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, meeting virtually no resistance.

The M23 had already taken control of another major city in eastern DRC, Goma, at the end of January. But the armed group has struggled to keep a grip on the vast area it has captured.

There, no one really knows the circumstances surrounding nightly killings, or can identify their perpetrators with certainty. Territories under M23 control no longer have courts or prisons, and hardly any police at all.

Bukavu's two million or so inhabitants can enjoy some level of normalcy during the day — but when it gets dark, the streets empty out.

“We stay up all night. Bandits can break into our homes at any moment,” said Jean Bosco, a Bukavu resident, who said he hurries home before nightfall.

Congolese troops who fled the city left their weapons behind, which were then picked up by criminals.