GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo – On Tuesday, Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, was engulfed in chaos as dead bodies littered the streets, gunfire echoed throughout the area, and hospitals struggled to cope with the influx of casualties. M23 rebels, allegedly supported by Rwanda, encountered resistance from Congolese military forces and pro-government militias.
Following the rebels’ advance into the lakeside city the previous day, demonstrators in the capital launched attacks on a U.N. compound and embassies, including those of Rwanda, France, and the United States, voicing their frustration over what they perceive as foreign meddling in local affairs.
The incursion of M23 fighters into Goma marks the most significant escalation of a three-decade-long conflict since 2012, rooted in the enduring consequences of the Rwandan genocide and the grasp for Congo’s rich mineral resources.
The Congolese authorities and the leader of U.N. peacekeeping operations have indicated that Rwandan troops are present in Goma, supporting their M23 allies. In contrast, Rwanda asserts it is adopting a defensive approach in light of perceived threats from Congolese militias.
Reports from residents and U.N. officials indicate that numerous Congolese soldiers have surrendered, though some remain, continuing to resist alongside pro-government militias.
Residents from various neighborhoods reported the sounds of gunfire and explosions throughout Tuesday morning.
“I’ve been hearing gunfire since midnight… it seems to be coming from near the airport,” an elderly woman in Goma’s northern Majengo neighborhood told Reuters via phone.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA), informed a Geneva briefing that colleagues reported “intense small arms and mortar fire throughout the city, alongside numerous dead bodies on the streets.”
“We have received reports of sexual assaults by fighters, property looting, and humanitarian health facilities being attacked,” he added. Other international aid officials noted that hospitals were overwhelmed, with the injured being treated in hallways.
“The town is like a powder keg,” stated Willy Ngumbi, a bishop in Goma. He described how explosives struck a residence housing priests and a maternity ward at a Catholic hospital on Monday. “The youth are armed, and the fighting has now moved into the town.”
FEAR OF ESCALATION
The U.N. and global leaders are apprehensive that the ongoing conflict could devolve into a regional war similar to those of 1996-1997 and 1998-2003, which resulted in millions of deaths primarily due to starvation and disease.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23, has hinted that the rebels may aim to oust President Felix Tshisekedi and his administration located 1,600 km (1,000 miles) away in the capital.
In Kinshasa, agitated crowds burned tires, chanted anti-Rwanda slogans, and attacked the diplomatic missions of several nations perceived as supportive of Rwanda, prompting police to deploy tear gas.
A diplomatic source from Europe revealed that the embassies of Rwanda, France, the U.S., Uganda, and Kenya were among those targeted.
“What Rwanda is doing is with the complicity of France, the U.S., and Belgium. The Congolese people have had enough. How many times do we have to die?” protested Joseph Ngoy.
The United Nations has found itself embroiled in the conflict with its peacekeeping force. South Africa reported that three of its peacekeepers were killed in crossfire between government troops and rebels, with a fourth succumbing to injuries from prior clashes, raising the total number of South African fatalities in the past week to 13.
President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly had a phone conversation with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, where they both recognized the necessity for a ceasefire.
On Monday, Rwanda’s military claimed that five individuals were killed and 26 injured in exchanges with Congolese forces near the border.
The hostilities have caused a mass exodus from Goma, which serves as a key humanitarian aid hub for displaced individuals. Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of thousands have fled the violence, adding to the 3 million displaced in eastern Congo last year.
RAPID OFFENSIVE
M23 is the latest in a series of ethnic Tutsi-led, Rwandan-supported insurgencies that have disrupted Congo since the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda three decades ago, when Hutu extremists murdered Tutsis and moderate Hutus, only to be overthrown by Tutsi-led forces that continue to hold power in Rwanda.
M23 resumed hostilities in 2022, a decade after a previous revolt that briefly seized Goma.
In recent weeks, the group has rapidly advanced through North Kivu province bordering Rwanda, disregarding calls from world leaders to cease their offensive.
Rwanda has rejected pleas for its troops to withdraw, citing threats to its security posed by ethnic Hutu militias, some of which have ties to the extremists responsible for the genocide of nearly 1 million people in 1994. According to U.N. experts, Rwanda has deployed 3,000 to 4,000 troops in eastern Congo to bolster the M23 forces.
The Congolese government has urged international powers to pressure Rwanda, potentially through sanctions, to halt the M23 offensive.
In a conversation with President Tshisekedi, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio “condemned the assault on Goma by the Rwanda-backed M23 and reaffirmed the United States’ respect for the sovereignty of the DRC,” as stated by the State Department.
The U.N. Security Council was scheduled to revisit the crisis during discussions on Tuesday, according to diplomatic sources.
