DRC conflict: M23 rebels enter Goma after claiming capture of city – live
DRC conflict: M23 rebels enter Goma after claiming capture of city – live
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Hello and welcome to the Democratic Republic of Congo live blog, where we will be bringing you all the latest from a developing situation. Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured eastern DR Congo’s largest city, Goma, as the United Nations reported “mass panic” with the government dubbing the insurgency a “declaration of war”, AP reported.
The city’s capture came following a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons. The M23 rebel movement announced the coup d’etat in a statement. In the statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm. There was no immediate comment from the government of the DR Congo.
Hours earlier, the UN’s special representative for Congo told an emergency meeting of the UN security council that with the airport shut down and roads blocked in the vast region’s humanitarian and security hub, “we are trapped.”. The M23 rebels’ offensive at the heart of the mineral-rich region threatens to dramatically worsen one of Africa’s longest wars and create further misery for what is already one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with millions of people displaced.
The UN security council on Sunday demanded that M23 rebel forces stop an ongoing offensive and advance towards Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and that “external forces” in the region immediately withdraw. The council demands came just hours after Rwandan-backed M23 said they had taken Goma following a lightning advance that has forced thousands of people to flee and fuelled concerns of a regional war. Reuters could not independently determine whether the city was fully under rebel control.
