Rwanda-backed rebels seize key Congolese town, UN says ‘mass terror’ in Goma

Rwanda-backed rebels seized eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma early Monday, the UN said, sparking terror among its two million people and the Congolese government said the rebel advance was “a declaration of war.”

The M23 rebel group announced that it had captured the city minutes before the end of a 48-hour deadline for Congo to hand over its weapons.

In a statement, the rebels urged the residents of Goma to remain calm and the Congolese army to gather at the central stadium.

The M23 rebel offensive in the heart of the mineral-rich region has escalated one of Africa’s longest-running wars and threatened more than just civilian displacement. According to a report issued by the United Nations, more than a third of the population of North Kivu province, where Goma is located, is currently displaced, and the occupation of Goma city will worsen the situation.

On Sunday night, the United Nations peacekeeping forces began to prepare the soldiers who surrendered on the outskirts of the city.

Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muaya said in a video posted on X that the country is “in a state of war where the news is changing,” asking for the protection of citizens.

Late Sunday, the UN Special Representative for Congo told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that “we are trapped” with the airport closed and roads blocked in the vast humanitarian and security hub of the region.

Congo cut ties with Rwanda late Saturday, despite evidence gathered by UN experts and others that it did not support M23. At least 13 peacekeepers have been killed in clashes over the past week. And the Congolese were again on the run.

M23 has scored a major territorial victory in recent weeks after a months-long regional attempt on the Congolese border with Rwanda failed. On Sunday night, the rebels demanded that the Congolese hand over their weapons and approach the stadium at 3am local time or take the city.

Some Congolese soldiers have laid down their weapons, the Uruguayan army in Goma said in a statement on Wednesday, Sunday, as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

“More than a hundred FARDC soldiers are sheltered in the Siempre Presente facility (waiting for the disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation) process,” the statement said.

In the photos shared with the statement, armed soldiers in military uniforms and civilian clothes were seen enlisting as peacekeepers.

UN Special Envoy Bintu Keita told the Security Council that despite UN peacekeeping forces supporting Congolese forces, the entry of M23 and Rwandan troops into the Munigi settlement on the Goma border had “terrorised many”. Munigi is nine kilometers from the city.

Keita said M23 fighters were advancing and using residents “as human shields” while others fled for their lives.

“The M23 airspace over tires has been declared closed,” she added. In other words, we are trapped. She said the UN is temporarily evacuating non-essential workers from the city.

Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kaykwamba Wagner told the Security Council that Rwanda “is no longer able to hide itself from diplomatic tactics, a frontal attack, a declaration of war”.

Rwanda’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ernest Rawamusio, neither confirmed nor denied Congo’s claim. He criticized the Congolese government “if it had shown its true commitment to peace, the crisis could have been avoided.”

The United States and France have called for a ceasefire and urged Rwanda to end its support for M23. Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea has warned that the United States will “consider all possible weapons” against those responsible for perpetuating the armed conflict. .

In the last 48 hours, two United Nations peacekeepers from South Africa were killed and 11 people were injured and hospitalized, said the spokesman of the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres before the Security Council meeting.

The United Nations has reiterated its “strongest condemnation” of the M23 attack with the support of the Rwandan Defense Force and called on the rebel group to stop all hostilities and recover, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Congo, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, which is mainly made up of Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army a decade ago. The protracted conflict in the mineral-rich region is one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, with some 100 armed groups fighting it.

Although the Rwandan government has denied supporting the rebels, last year it admitted that it has soldiers and missile systems to protect its security in eastern Congo and pointed to the Congolese army’s build-up near the border. UN experts estimate that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops are in Congo.