Lemera massacre
| Lemera massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the First Congo War | |
The Lemera Hospital, where the massacre took place | |
| Location | Lemera, Uvira Territory, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Date | 6 October 1996 |
Attack type | Massacre, ethnic cleansing, arson |
| Deaths | 37 Per UN Mapping Report |
| Victims | Fuliru people, FAZ soldiers and medical staffs |
| Perpetrators | Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) |
The Lemera massacre (French: Massacre de Lemera), also known as the Lemera Attack (French: Attaque de Lemera) or Lemera Battle (French: Bataille de Lemera) occurred on 6 October 1996, perpetrated by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) at Lemera Hospital, a medical facility in the small town of Lemera in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 37 individuals were killed, according to the United Nations Mapping Report.
The attack is often recognized as "the first major crime" of the First Congo War. The massacre left the hospital in ruins and caused widespread shock and outrage in the local and international community. On 6 October 2022, Dr. Denis Mukwege appealed for the construction of "dignified" graves for the bodies discarded in mass graves to be exhumed and laid in a memorialized burial.