Rebels backed by Rwanda enter the outskirts of Goma, causing mass fear. The DR Congo calls it a “declaration of war.”

On Sunday, rebels backed by Rwanda entered the outskirts of Goma, the biggest city in eastern Congo. This caused what the UN called “mass panic” among the city’s 2 million residents, and the government of Congo called it a “declaration of war.”

The UN’s special representative for Congo told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, “We are trapped.” The closure of the airport and roads in the area’s main hub for security and relief aid led to this situation.

The M23 rebels’ offensive in the middle of the mineral-rich region could make one of Africa’s longest wars much worse and add to the suffering in what is already one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, with millions of people forced to leave their homes.

Congo cut ties with Rwanda late Saturday night. Rwanda has denied supporting the M23, even though proof from UN experts and others shows otherwise. The increase in violence has resulted in the deaths of at least 13 soldiers in the last week. Africans were once again running away.

In the past few weeks, the M23 has made big territorial gains along the border between Congo and Rwanda. This comes after months of failed attempts to make peace in the area. They told the Congolese army that they would take the city if they didn’t give up their weapons and show up at a nearby stadium by 3 a.m. on Sunday night.
An army from Uruguay, present in Goma alongside the UN to maintain peace, announced late Sunday night that some Congolese soldiers had surrendered their firearms.

The statement said, “More than one hundred FARDC soldiers are staying at the “Siempre Presente” base while they wait for the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration processes.”

In pictures that were sent with the statement, armed men dressed in both military and civilian clothes can be seen signing in with the peacekeepers.

Bintou Keita, the UN’s special representative, told the Security Council that M23 and Rwandan troops entered the Munigi neighborhood on the outskirts of Goma, “causing mass panic,” even though UN peacekeepers were there to help the Congolese military. It’s 9 km (5 miles) from Munigi to the city.

Keita said that M23 fighters were moving forward and using people “as human shields” while others ran for their lives.

She also said, “M23 has closed the airspace over Goma.” “To put it simply, we’re unable to escape.” She stated that the UN was temporarily evacuating unneeded staff from the city.
Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, who is the foreign minister of Congo, told the Security Council that Rwanda was committed to “a frontal aggression, a declaration of war that no longer hides itself behind diplomatic maneuvers.”
Ernest Rwamucyo, Rwanda’s ambassador to the UN, did not state whether or not the claims made by Congo were true. He said that the situation could have been avoided if the government of Congo had “shown a genuine commitment to peace.”

France and the US both asked for an end to the fighting and for Rwanda to stop supporting M23. Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea warned that the US would “consider all the tools at its disposal” to hold those responsible for keeping the fighting going.

A spokeswoman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said before the Security Council meeting that 11 people were hurt and taken to the hospital in the last 48 hours, including two from South Africa and one from Uruguay.

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the head of the UN once again condemned the M23 offensive “with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces” and told the rebel group to stop all hostile action right away and leave. The Congo breaks ties with Rwanda.

Experts from the UN, Congo, and the US say that Rwanda is helping M23. Most of M23’s members are Tutsis who departed from the Congolese army over a decade ago. It’s one of about 100 armed groups trying to get a foothold in the mineral-rich area, where a long-running war has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

The government of Rwanda says it is not helping the rebels, but it did admit last year that it has troops and weapons systems in eastern Congo to protect its own safety. This was in response to a buildup of Congolese forces near the border. The UN believes that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops are in Congo.

Late Saturday night, Congo’s foreign ministry said it was cutting all official ties with Rwanda and pulling all diplomatic staff out of the country “immediately.”

Rwanda’s foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, asserts that Congo made the decision to sever ties alone. He told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Nduhungirehe stated, “For us, we took the right steps to get our last diplomat out of Kinshasa, where Congolese officials were constantly threatening him.”
The M23 had taken Goma before, in 2012, but they pulled back after a lot of pressure from other countries in Rwanda.

People run away from the rebel attack.
On Sunday morning, heavy gunshots resounded in Goma. The city is only a few kilometers (miles) from the front line. A lot of kids and adults left the Kanyaruchinya camp, which is near the border with Rwanda and is one of the biggest places in eastern Congo for displaced people.

Safi Shangwe, who was on his way into the city, said, “We are running away because we saw soldiers on the border with Rwanda shooting and throwing bombs.”
Some of those who had to leave were afraid they wouldn’t be safe in Goma either. Adèle Shimiye said, “I heard there are bombs in Goma too, so we don’t know where to go now.”
A lot of people tried to escape to Rwanda. Officers in charge of migration carefully checked travel papers at a border crossing east of Goma.

“I am crossing to the other side to see if we will have a safe place to stay because the city is not safe right now,” Muahadi Amani, a resident of Goma, told the AP.
Joyce Msuya, who is the UN’s deputy chief of humanitarian affairs, said that things were quickly getting worse. “The effects on civilians could be terrible if fighting spreads to Goma, which is a very crowded city,” she said.

They said they were fighting off the M23 attack with help from other groups, such as UN peacekeepers and soldiers from SAMIDRC, or the Southern African Development Community Mission.

The South African defense minister said that seven South African troops with SAMIDIRC have been killed in the past few days, in addition to the two peacekeepers.
The Congolese government and its allies, including the 14,000-strong UN operation, have kept M23 away from Goma since 2021.

Bahati Jackson lives in Goma and has been hearing gunshots. He remembers running away from the city when M23 took it over in 2012. They’re staying this time, though.
He said, “If we’re going to die, it’s better to die here.”