Thirteen soldiers serving with peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in clashes with the M23 rebels.
The South African army said nine of its soldiers had died aiding the rebel advance in the eastern city of Goma. Congo, while three Malawians and Uruguayans were also killed.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that he spoke with the leaders of dr. Congo and Rwanda amid global calls for an end to the violence.
The United Nations is pulling all non-essential personnel out of Goma—a city of more than a million people—as fighting intensifies.
A UN Security Council meeting on the deadly clashes, originally scheduled for Monday, was moved to Sunday due to the escalating conflict.
The M23 group called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender to avoid bloodshed. While dr. Congo has severed diplomatic ties with neighboring Rwanda, accusing the country of being behind the rebellion.
The move comes after the M23 fighter killed the Congolese military governor who visited the front on Thursday. Earlier in January, they captured the key eastern Congolese towns of Minova and Masisi.
On Saturday, Macron called for an end to the fighting in separate calls with leaders Dr. Congo and Rwanda, his office announced.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on the M23 to halt its progress and condemned Rwanda’s support for the group, the AFP news agency reports.
Further condemnation came from Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the African Union mediator between Rwanda and others. Congo, who denied the “irresponsible actions of M23 and its supporters” and called for an “immediate end” to the fight to preserve civilian lives, according to the AFP news agency.
Fighting between the M23 army and the DR Congo has intensified since the beginning of the year, with the rebels taking control of more territory than ever.
The conflict has already driven more than 400,000 people to flee their homes this year, according to the UN.
Local leaders last week said more than 200 civilians had been killed in areas captured by the M23, and hospitals in Goma were treating hundreds of patients.
Martin Gordon, the Anglican bishop of Goma, told the BBC that fighting in the country had gone on “for too long” and people would do anything for peace.
In the past few days, several countries have called on their citizens to leave Goma, including the UK, France, Germany and the US.
Human Rights Watch has warned of escalating risks to civilians as the Congolese army battles M23 rebels. The humanitarian group accused both sides of committing grave abuses against civilians.
The UN has warned that the ongoing conflict is worsening the humanitarian crisis in the region.
M23 has taken control of huge parts of eastern Dr. Mineral-rich Congo as of 2021, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result.
DR Congo and the UN say that M23 was supported by Rwanda. The Rwandan authorities have neither confirmed nor denied this.
Rwanda previously said that the authorities in dr. The Congolese are working with some of those responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda against ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutus.
M23 was formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, allegedly to protect the Tutsi population in the east. Congo, which has long complained of persecution and discrimination.
However, Rwanda’s critics accuse him of using the M23 to loot the minerals of the Eastern Dr. Metals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.
