Mob chaos Jailbreaks stoke panic as M23 rebels advance

Mass prison escapes during the chaos of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured two of its largest cities over the past two months, have caused panic among the public.

- By A reporter BUKAVU and Carlos Mureithi NAIROBI

Jailbreaks involving thousands of people at four prisons in the region have accompanied the rapid advance that the militia started in January in its fighting against the Congolese army that also caused widespread chaos and confusion.

"With prisoners escaping, we feel insecure," said Dufina Tabu Mwenebatende, a human rights activist with the Association des Volontaires du Congo (Association of Congo Volunteers).

As mayhem ensued during the approach of M23 into areas of eastern DRC, security guards assigned to keep prisons secure abandoned their positions. More than 4,000 prisoners escaped from Munzenze prison in Goma on the night of 27 January as M23 entered the city, which is the capital of North Kivu province. It later emerged that hundreds of female inmates had been attacked in their wing and raped and burned alive.

More escapes - in Bukavu, Kabare and Kalemie central prison - took place subsequently, with the most recent, at Kalemie, on 19 February.