Militiamen from the M23 rebel group, with the support of Rwandan soldiers, entered the city of Goma, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), this Sunday, according to diplomatic sources and local media, after several days of fighting against the Army. Congolese. The M23 itself assured this Monday in a statement that the capital of North Kivu was under its control, although this Monday there were clashes in different neighborhoods of the city and there are still pockets of resistance from Congolese soldiers and their allies. Congo claims that Rwanda has declared war on it.
The M23 advance on Goma with the support of thousands of Rwandan soldiers has been unstoppable. Residents in the city have shared videos on social networks in which the rebels are seen patrolling the streets to the joy of the population. The rebel group has asked the inhabitants of Goma, in a statement, to remain calm after their “liberation.” Thousands of people have tried to flee to Rwanda, but the border between the two countries was closed this Monday, according to diplomatic sources, and only United Nations personnel were allowed through.
The situation is chaotic in Goma, a city of one million inhabitants. At the same time that clashes are taking place in certain points, water and electricity are cut off, most businesses are closed and there has been a massive escape from the Munzenze prison, where some 3,000 people were imprisoned.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has once again called on Rwandan forces to cease their support for the M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC. For its part, the UN Security Council, which met urgently this Sunday, has condemned the “shameless disregard” of Congolese sovereignty and territorial integrity by the “external forces” that have penetrated the DRC. .
The Congolese Foreign Minister, Thèrese Kayiwamba, assured this weekend that Rwanda’s support for the M23 rebels in their advance on Goma was “a declaration of war.” For its part, the Rwandan Government rejected this Sunday in a statement “the erroneous and manipulated official reactions” and accused, in turn, Congo and its allies, the Wazalendo (combatants of North Kivu), the Burundian army, the forces of Southern Africa and the soldiers of the UN Mission (Monusco) for having violated the ceasefire.
The president of Kenya, William Ruto, has called an extraordinary summit of the East African Community in the next 48 hours, to which the presidents of the DRC and Rwanda, Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, respectively, have been invited to participate.
