GOMA – Thousands fled the city of Goma on Monday as fighting raged between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda, who claimed to have captured eastern Congo’s largest regional hub.
Pockets of chaos and gunfire had some people hunkering down as the rebels marched into the city with a population of about 2 million. Others hurried to safer areas of the province; some applauded and cheered on the rebels from the roadside, even shaking hands with them. Many, however, tried to flee into neighboring Rwanda, marching in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic, clinging to their babies, clothes and other belongings on their backs and heads.
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Goma is a key location in the conflict-battered North Kivu province whose minerals are critical to much of the world’s technology. Rebel groups have long fought over control of eastern Congo’s mineral wealth, and the conflict has often pitted ethnic groups against one another, with civilians forced to flee their homes and seek protection from armed groups.
It was unclear how much of Goma was occupied by the rebels, but the events are a huge escalation in the decades-long battle between the two countries.
“There is shooting all over the city. We don’t know who is shooting, whether it’s the M23 or our soldiers," said Patrice Naanga, a resident of Goma.
The Congolese government confirmed the presence of M23 rebels in Goma, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of capital Kinshasa, but stopped short of saying they were in control of the city. "No centimeter will be given up!!!” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on X as he called for support for the country.
A fire at the city's Munzenze prison on Monday morning resulted in the escape of thousands of inmates. “All the prisoners who were detained came out, whether women, men or minors, everyone came out,” said Mwamisyo Ndungo, one of the escapees who estimated that more than 2,000 fled the facility.
The M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in a decades-long conflict, one of Africa's largest. The rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012, before they were forced to pull out under international pressure, and resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congo’s government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied such support.
Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Congo of failing to enter a dialogue with M23, which it described as a “Congolese rebel group fighting to protect their community.” That failure, it said, has prolonged the fighting that continues to present “a serious threat to Rwanda’s security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwanda’s sustained defensive posture.”
The advance into Goma is the culmination of a prolonged battle between the rebels and the Congolese security forces that saw several towns along the Rwandan border falling to the insurgents.
Analysts have warned the latest escalation could further destabilize the region, which is already home to one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises with more than 6 million people displaced, including more than a third of North Kivu's population.
A regional hub for trade, security and humanitarian efforts, Goma's airport, which is key for transporting supplies, has been shut following the fighting.
Rwanda’s state television also showed several Congolese soldiers surrendering in the Rwandan town of Rubavu after crossing the border from Goma.
UN peacekeeping mission prioritizing its personnel and facilities
Speaking at a virtual press briefing on Monday, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix confirmed M23 has made significant advances in Goma but added that “there’s significant fighting" going on in the city. "Therefore it’s very fluid and still very volatile, and increasingly dangerous in terms of the impact on the already very much affected civilian population,” said Lacroix.
Lacroix said he has heard estimates of 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandans in Goma, but “it’s difficult to tell exactly what the numbers are.”
The U.N. peacekeeping mission is also prioritizing the protection of its personnel and premises as well as that of civilians sheltering in its facilities in and around Goma, he said.
The U.N. Security Council has asked the M23 to immediately reverse its advances. Other countries including the United States, United Kingdom and France have also condemned the rebel push.
Congolese government, which cut ties with Rwanda over the weekend, said the country is “in a war situation” and accused Rwanda of committing “a frontal aggression (and) a declaration of war."
Rwanda accuses Congo of enlisting and fighting alongside Hutu rebels and former militiamen responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a group formed by the Hutus who fled to Congo after the killings.
Residents seek safety across the border in Rwanda
The M23 rebels' march towards Goma threw the city into chaos, from hospitals overstretched with injured residents to internally displacement camps being hit amid intensified shelling that forced displaced families to once again grab what was left of their belongings before loading them alongside their children into cramped vehicles and scooters.
As some residents remained indoors worried for their safety, hundreds including children on Monday trekked for hours to other parts of North Kivu and to cross over the border into Rwanda where several Congolese forces have surrendered.
“We are fleeing because we saw soldiers on the border with Rwanda throwing bombs and shooting,” said Safi Shangwe, who was among those on the move.
Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Congo has left at least 13 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers dead, United Nations and army officials said Saturday. The U.N. peacekeeping force, also known as MONUSCO, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.
The Uruguayan army, in Goma serving with the U.N. peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on the social platform X late Sunday that more than 100 Congolese soldiers were laying down their weapons.
Who are the rebels and why is Goma of interest to them?
The M23 refers to the March 23, 2009, agreement that ended a previous uprising in the region. The group was created in 2012 after the failed integration of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army. It claims it took up arms against Congolese forces to defend the Tutsis from discrimination but has often talked about targeting the Congolese government.
Unlike in 2012 when the rebels only wanted to be integrated into the Congolese army and to have greater participation in the political process, their motive this time is rooted in a desire to control parts of eastern Congo, said Darren Davids, analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “DRC will have to rely on the international community to once again pressure Rwanda and M23 into releasing the city, but it’s unclear if they will this time around,” Davids added.
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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Christina Malkia in Kinshasa, Congo, Sam Mednick in Jerusalem, Monika Pronczuk and Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal and Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report.