Rwanda-DRC Tension: Did the rebels take control of the Congoon city? What next? | News of the conflict

Group M23 Rebel has declared The key city of Goma under his control, signaling a big blow to the Congenian army and a serious escalation in a longtime conflict in which hundreds of people killed, and millions displaced in the eastern democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Goma was reported to be captured on Monday after m23 – which united nations say he supported the neighbor Rwanda – Advancially progressed quickly in the positions of the Congonic Army last week. During the day, the cracked and explosion barge was rocking the city, which is the capital of the Province of Northern Kiva and the regional center of security and humanitarian efforts.

Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants and previously displaced people fled to neighboring cities in panic. Social media shots showed huge crowds moving on foot and motorcycles, carrying luggage on their heads and back.

The crisis, which prevailed in 2022, displaced millions of civilians in the East DC. More than 237,000 people were only displaced in January, according to the recent report of the UN High Commissioner’s Office for refugees.

Here’s what you need to know about M23 ambitions and the latest fights:

Who are the M23 rebels and who supports them?

M23, or Move Movement on March 2nd, is one of Hundreds of armed groups It operates in the Eastern DRC -Ui trying to control critical mineral mines. The group consists of fighter Tutsi -ai claims that he is fighting for the rights of the population of the DRC Tutsi minority. It was created in 2012 after a group from the DRC Armed Forces (Fardc) fell apart, complaining about poor treatment.

The DRC and UN government accuse Rwanda under President Paul Kagame of supporting M23 with soldiers and weapons in an effort to control the Eastern DRC rich in minerals. Rwanda denies the charges and accuses Drc of affiliation of members of the Democratic forces for the release of Rwanda, the anti -Cagame of the rebel group that was involved in 1994. Ruandan genocide. The UN estimates that there are up to 4,000 soldiers from Rwanda in DRC.

In 2012, the M23 first occupied Goma, but a congenoconial army, supported by the UN force, pushed the rebels back into the eastern hills on the border with Rwanda 2013.

However, DC faced an increase in violence of M23 2022. The group has since progressed in the crowd, grabbing the territory in battles with the Congolent Army and two peacekeeping missions: UN -AU DRC Mission and South African Development Community (USA) Mission to DRC. South African troops, as part of the UN mission, were crucial in the M23 defeat 2013.

European mercenaries from France, Romania and Belarus also support the Congol army.

What happened in running the events on Monday?

From the beginning of the year, the M23 has enhanced his offensive on Goma, capturing nearby cities like Sake and Mines.

On Friday was Major General Peter Cirimwami, a military governor of North Kivo Province, was killed On the first lines.

Civilians in the area of ​​M23 fled to Goma, although they were not sure of their safety.

“Let’s go to Goma, but I have heard that there are bombs in and now we don’t know where to go,” Adele Shimiye told the Associated Press news agency. Others fled to border crossings with Rwanda where immigration officials carefully checked the travel documents.

On Saturday, M23 said he would accept Gom on Monday and warned the army and peaceful forces to surrender until 3am (01:00 GMT).

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council Sunday, officials condemned the M23 progress and confirmed that 13 peacekeeping forces had been killed from Friday to Saturday. South Africa said nine of his soldiers were killed trying to refuse M23’s progress on Goma, while the UN announced that three soldiers of Malavian soldiers had been killed and one Uruguay.

Bintou Keita, a special UN representative for DRC, said at the meeting that the UN staff began to evacuate, but warned that he had warned that “We are trapped” As the M23 declared airspace over closed gom and roads to the city blocked.

Meanwhile, the United States, the United Kingdom and France warned their citizens to leave Gom while the inhabitants poured out of the city.

How did the M23 reported capture Gom?

On Sunday night around 10:30 pm (20:30 GMT), the M23 fighters entered Gom in the midst of heavy shooting and explosions. The residents posted videos on social networks showing hard -armed M23 fighters who wore military clothing and patrolled the main streets.

About 100 government soldiers released weapons by Uruguayan troops Monusco on Sunday night, while it is believed that hundreds of European mercenaries handed over their weapons after M23 threatened to burn them, according to a Sky News report.

“More than a hundred Fardc soldiers are obscured in ” siemp Preventing ‘facilities that await [disarmament, demobilization and reintegration) process,” the Uruguay army said in a statement on X on Sunday.

In a statement on Monday, M23 said it had “liberated” Goma and urged those remaining in the city to “remain calm”. The group also ordered Congolese troops to “hand over” their weapons to MONUSCO and gather at the central stadium.

Goma was largely quiet on Monday, but gunfire rang out in parts of the city, including near the airport, in the city centre and on the border, the Reuters news agency reported. Congolese special forces and government-aligned militia were still engaging M23 rebels on the outskirts of the city, residents said.

Corneille Nangaa – the leader of the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23 – told Reuters on Monday that his forces were in control of Goma. “They [Congolese army soldiers] They started to surrender, but it takes time, “he said.

In the meantime, there are reports that the rebels robbed and attacked infrastructure. AFP news agency reported on Monday prison in Gom prison, after which the prison was lit.

“Goma captured by M23 is a huge failure for Drc power,” said Vincent Rouget, analyst of the Control Risks, Global Security Consultancy, said Al Jazeera, adding that the appearance and positioning of the city also represent challenges.

“You have a volcano on one side, a lake on the other, which is in the extremely immediate vicinity of the Rwande border. This means that after losing Gom, it will be extremely difficult for the military army to be able to attract the city,” he said.

What did the Government of Drc -Ai Rwanda say?

Congick Muyaya Government spokesman, in a statement posted on X on Monday, announced the presence of the Rwanda Army in Gom.

“The Government continues to work to avoid the massacre and loss of human life given the obvious intentions of Rwanda,” he said, saying to the inhabitants to stay at home and refrain from conducting vandalism and robbery.

In a video posted on X, he called for civilian protection and said that DRC “in a war situation in which the news is changing.”

The President of Drc Felix Tshiseeked has not yet commented.

Foreese Kayikwamba Wagner’s Foreign Minister told the UN Sunday Council meeting that the troops of Rwanda, which crossed the border to Gom, “Rwanda’s Declaration”, and DRC interrupted all diplomatic ties. Wagner also called on countries to sanction Rwanda.

Ernest Rwamucyo, Ambassador UN, Ernest Rwamucyo, has not confirmed or denied the statements of Drc at a meeting, but said that DRC could prevent the crisis if he “showed a true commitment to peace.”

What did other countries say?

Kenyan President William Ruto-President of the Eastern Africa Regional Block (EAC), belonging to DRC and Rwanda-they have taken an emergency meeting of EAC leaders by Tuesday, saying that the region had “a critical responsibility in the design of violence and facilitating dialogue” among all sides .

Ruto also said that on Sunday night he spoke with Tshiseception and Kagame, and both leaders confirmed the presence at the EAC meeting.

“It’s the best perspective to break the fire,” said Gom analyst, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for Al Jazeera. “At this point, the situation is quite gambling because the weapons they use is not intended for an urban war.”

Rouget said that, in leadership until Monday, it looked like M23 and his determined pressure and his supporters were cut off with a gom from the re -supply route, connecting it with other Congols, adding: “The time of pressure is probably not accidental.”

“One thing we have said for a while is that the main support M23, according to the UN -A -expert group – that is, Rwanda – will not be ready to risk the huge PR return of surgery in the crowd. But change administration in the US – in potentially she may have played a role In changing the calculation and thinking that, in fact, a diplomatic return may not be as serious as he once feared, “he told Al Jazeera.

At the meeting of the Security Council, they now called for a ceasefire and invited Rwanda to withdraw support from M23. Acting US Ambassador to UN Dorothy Shea warned that Washington “would consider all tools available” to be responsible for maintaining a conflict.

Meanwhile, France was standing aside with DRC. “While Goma prepares for a fall, France expresses its solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo and its territorial integrity. France firmly condemns the offensive,” Foreign Minister Jean-Nel Barrot said on Monday.

What happens next?

All eyes are on the ruto as analysts watch that EAC will try to negotiate a ceasefire. The previous one negotiation of interruption Angole violated both sides.

“[Capturing Goma] He puts M23 in a much stronger position that he can continue his offensive, “Rouget said.” We are not necessarily at the end of the group progress in Eastern Congo. We can see further conflicts, further progress in other cities. “

Goma’s arrest could also worse off one of the longest wars in Africa and move thousands of civilians, analysts said. More than a third of the Northern Kivua population has been displaced, according to the UN.

Diplomatic tensions between Rwanda and South Africa are likely to be deepened after the death of the peacekeeping forces last week, an unnamed Goma analyst told Al Jazeera, adding: “It will not be a job as usual between Rwanda and Sadc.”

The two governments already have less than warm relationships: the Rwanda Disident’s assassination assassination in South Africa in 2014 were followed to Cigali, which led to both sides to temporarily separate diplomatic ties.

Jason Stearns, a researcher from DRC, said countries like the US can take measures to stop the support of M23 Rwanda. “In the past, donors used this influence,” Stearns wrote in the Financial Times this week, citing 2012 when the US and other Western countries withdrew help in Rwanda and when M23 was then defeated.

But “this time we seem to live in another world, one in which migration, business investments and national concerns are more important than humanitarianism and where Apathy trumpets solidarity,” he wrote.