At mass burial, Congolese families weep for victims of protest killings

FILE PHOTO: Tumaini Barhumana reacts as she mourns over the coffin of her husband Espoir Bulangalire who was killed during a demonstration by followers of the Wazalendo church against the presence of United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF), before burial at the Makao cemetery in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - The smell of decomposing bodies filled the air as cemetery workers in eastern Congo unloaded dozens of coffins at the final resting place for victims of one of the deadliest crackdowns on protests in recent local memory.

As rain poured down on the funerals in mid-September, distraught family members cried out and clasped each other for support. The burials continued as darkness fell.