Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo – A devastating prison break in Goma, Eastern Congo, has left over 150 female inmates dead after they were allegedly raped by male inmates and subsequently burned alive in a fire started by the fleeing prisoners, CNN reported on July 7th.

According to a statement from a local justice source cited by Safe Magango, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, "Most of the 165 women who were raped by the escaping male inmates perished in the fire. Only 9 to 13 women survived the inferno."

"We have not independently verified the report from the judicial source, but we find his account credible," Magango told CNN in an interview.

Radio Okapi, a UN-backed broadcaster, reported that some male prisoners were killed by guards during the mass escape on June 27th. The escape was allegedly planned and executed amidst clashes between the M23 rebel coalition and the Congolese army in Goma. 1    

More than 4,000 inmates broke out of the Munzenze Central Prison, leaving it "completely empty and devastated," Radio Okapi added.

"The government strongly condemns this barbaric act," Patrick Muyaya, Congo's communications minister, told CNN on July 5th.

The UN Human Rights Office said on July 7th that it had received reports of other incidents of sexual violence involving the military and its allied forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the High Commissioner's office, said they were investigating reports of 52 women being gang-raped by Congolese soldiers in South Kivu.

Meanwhile, the M23 rebels have seized control of Goma this week and called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire following clashes with government forces that have left an estimated 3,000 people dead.

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