Despite being requested to leave by the UN Security Council, residents of Goma, the largest city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were fleeing on Monday. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group claimed to have taken control of the region’s largest city from Congolese forces as fighting raged.
Before dozens of rebels in military uniform marched into North Kivu province’s capital, which is located near Rwanda and is a volatile region rich in minerals that are important to a lot of the world’s technology, gunshots rang out across Goma overnight.
The Congolese government confirmed the presence of M23 rebels in Goma, 1, 500km (930 miles) east of the capital Kinshasa, but stopped short of saying they were in control of the city.
Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya issued a statement on X that advised Goma residents to remain at home and also urged Congolese citizens to mobilize to support the nation. No centimeter will be wasted, declares the statement! Muyaya wrote.
The March 23 Movement (M23) is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in the decades-long conflict. According to Congo’s government and UN experts, the rebels briefly seized control of Goma in 2012 before being forced to resurface under international pressure. They reappeared in late 2021 with growing support from Rwanda. Rwanda has denied such support.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Rwanda claimed that the DRC had failed to engage in dialogue with M23, which it described as a “Congolese rebel group fighting to protect their community.”
Source: Aljazeera
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