It has been 30 years since Rwanda-backed rebel forces attacked Lemera hospital in what was then eastern Zaire,
killing 37 patients and medical staff. This was one of the first major atrocities during what became known as the First Congo War, helping to unleash decades of foreign-backed rebellions and grave abuses against civilians by all sides, including ethnic-based
massacres, widespread
rape and
sexual violence, forced
recruitment of children,
abductions, torture,
mutilation, and
forced displacement.