Local sources said Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province, after the rebel group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.
Residents in eastern Congo's largest city, Goma, woke up on Monday morning uncertain about who is in control of the city, which Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured.
Since neighboring Rwanda’s Tutsi genocide, eastern DR Congo has faced relentless war. Beyond security concerns, Kigali profits immensely from exploiting the region’s vast mineral wealth, fueling ongoing conflict and instability.
Kigali’s support of former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila could complicate peace talks, while Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, is under siege by the M23.
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The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, is a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.
By Yassin Kombi and Sonia Rolley GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -President Paul Kagame said Rwanda was ready for "confrontation" as he rejected criticism over his backing for M23 rebels who were pushing south on Thursday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing the major city of Goma.
The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.
Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has called on Rwanda to halt its support for the M23 rebel group and immediately withdraw its troops from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).