Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo:
Rwanda-backed rebels on Monday claimed they captured Goma, the largest city in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the United Nations reported “mass panic” among its 2 million residents. The city’s capture came after a 48-hour deadline imposed by M23 rebels for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons expired.
The rebel alliance, spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia, announced the coup d’etat in a statement, urging residents of Goma to remain calm. Meanwhile, the government in Congo said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war,” according to a report by the Associated Press.
What is Happening In Congo
M23 fighters and 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers had been laying siege to Goma for several days, advancing in the heart of the mineral-rich region and threatening to dramatically worsen one of Africa’s longest wars and further displace civilians.
The Congolese armed forces appear to have been overwhelmed by the offensive, and Uruguay’s army said in a statement that some units had begun to surrender by handing over their weapons to UN peacekeepers in Goma.
According to a report by AFP, large explosions and gunfire were heard in central Goma on Monday morning. As chaos descended on the city, there was also a mass prison break from a torched prison which resulted reportedly in “deaths”.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes the M23, told Reuters on Monday that his forces were in control of Goma and that army soldiers were laying down arms.
Meanwhile, the Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya posted a video on X, calling for the protection of civilians and saying that the country is “in a war situation where the news is changing.”
On Sunday, The UN Security Council held crisis talks with the United States, France and Britain condemning what they said was Rwanda’s backing of the rebel advance.
But, Rwanda dismissed statements that “did not provide any solutions” and accused the Congolese government of sabotaging negotiations with the M23 and supporting Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide.
Kinshasa rejects these allegations. Congo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner called on the Security Council to impose a “total embargo on the export of all minerals labelled as Rwandan, in particular gold”.
Meanwhile, the UN staff and their families were evacuated to Rwanda on Monday, where 10 buses were waiting to pick them up. The border between Rwanda and DRC near the Goma remained closed on Monday, as the United States, France, the UK and Germany called on their citizens to leave the city.
DRC Conflict
The eastern borderlands of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are a tinderbox of rebel and militia fiefdoms stemming from two regional wars after Rwanda’s 1994 genocide when Hutu extremists murdered close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The M23 (or March 23 Movement), the latest in a long line of Tutsi-led rebel movements backed by Rwanda, captured Goma in 2012 but withdrew days later after an agreement brokered by neighbouring nations.
Congo has more than 100 armed groups, mainly in the east of the central African nation of 100 million people which is roughly the size of Western Europe and has plentiful mineral supplies in the sights of Chinese and Western companies.
According to a United Nations report, over a third of the population of North Kivu province, where Goma is located, is currently displaced.
About M23 Rebels
The 2012 fall of Goma led to the deployment of a new offensive-minded U.N. force, an overhaul of the Congolese army, and diplomatic pressure on Rwanda, leading to the M23’s defeat the next year and a deal calling for its demobilisation.
But the group never fully disarmed and launched a fresh offensive in 2022 that has seen it capture vast swathes of mineral-rich North Kivu province, including lucrative mines that produce coltan, which is used in smartphones.
Well-trained and professionally armed, M23 says it exists to protect Congo’s Tutsi population from the Congolese government and ethnic Hutu militias. U.N. experts say Rwanda has deployed 3,000-4,000 troops and provided significant firepower, including missiles and snipers, to support the M23.
The rebels’ advance since the start of the year has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes, on top of 3 million displaced in east Congo in 2024, according to the UN.