‘War Declaration’: M23 rebels claim that they captured Key Dr. Congo City | News of the conflict
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Witnesses say they saw the rebels entering the center of the eastern city of Gom in the middle of the shooting because the UN requires the end of the offensive.
The shooting rang in parts of Gom, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a few hours after M23 rebels supported by M23 He said they seized him despite the United Nations Security Council seeking to stop the offensive.
The armed group announced the arrest of the city in a statement early on Monday, since the government government said that their progress was the “Rwande of Rwanda Declaration”, and the UN said the capture caused a “mass panic” among the two million GOMA inhabitants.
The M23’s claim was followed by a 48-hour deadline that gave Congolian troops to hand over their weapons. His fighters also called on the inhabitants of Gom to remain calm, and members of the military army to gather at the central stadium.
Two witnesses said that the Reuters Reverend News Agency entered the center of Gom. One of them shared a short video showing hard -armed men walking the streets, the agency reported.
The progression of the M23 of the rebels forced thousands of thousands of minerals to the east of their homes and caused the fear that decades of old conflicts risked the wider regional war again.
The M23 fighters are closed in conflict with the Congenian army and the UN peacekeeping forces on the periphery of Gom for several days.
The battle for the key city is the last chapter of the struggle in Eastern Drc, an unstable area that struggled with regional rivalry, ethnic disputes and conflicts of armed militia for more than three decades, which has launched one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
In a video posted on X, Government spokesman Drc Patrick Muyaya called for civilian protection and said that the country was “in a war situation”.
Furious because of the advancement of M23 to Goma, Drc interrupted by tie with Rwand Saturday and invited the UN sanctions on his neighbor.
With international pressure for the end of the Battle of Goma, Kenya announced on Sunday that DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Ruanda President Paul Kagama had agreed to attend Summit in the next two days.
Kenyan President William Ruto has appealed to both of the leaders to “look out for a call to peace from the people of our region and international community.”
Ruto, President of the East African block, will hold an emergency meeting for the heads of the state about the situation, said Corrus Sing’oei, Secretary General at the Kenya Foreign Ministry.
At the UNSC Sunday emergency, in response to the crisis, top graduate Kinshas diplomat warned that more Rwandes’ troops crossed the border “in open and intentional violation of” sovereignty.
“This is a frontal attack, a statement of a war that no longer hides behind diplomatic art,” said Foreign Minister Drc, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner.
Kigali rejected statements that “did not provide any solutions” and blamed Kinshas to launch a recent escalation.
“The struggles close to the border of Rwanda are still a serious threat of security and the territorial integrity of Rwanda and require a permanent defensive posture of Rwanda,” said the Rwande Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
UN experts say Rwanda has arranged 3000-4000 soldiers and provided significant fire power, including rockets and snipers, to support the M23 in the DRC fight.
In a statement late Sunday, UNSC called for the withdrawal of aggressive “external forces” in the region, but stopped appointment explicitly.
The statement came after the UN chief Antonio Guterres urged Rwanda to get his armed forces out of DRC -the call Kigali rejected.
A dozen foreign peacekeeping forces were killed in escalation conflicts.
