DR Congo : M23 rebels have seized Goma

DR Congo : M23 rebels have seized Goma

The city of Goma fell into the hands of the M23 rebels on Monday, January 27. Kenyan President William Ruto, who heads the East African Community economic bloc, called an emergency meeting for Wednesday. He said that the Congolese and Rwandan presidents confirmed their participation.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to our sources, Congolese military and civilian officials began leaving the city of Goma on Sunday evening.

“They turned off the lights in their premises and took boats that crossed Lake Kivu and went to the city of Bukavu (capital of South Kivu). It was around 10 p.m.,” a Congolese military source told SOS Médias Burundi.

“All night long,” according to local sources, “the crackling of heavy and light weapons did not stop.”

In a statement, Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya asked residents not to panic. Several dozen Congolese soldiers were forced to flee to Rwanda.

“Soldiers came to our homes so that we would give them civilian clothes so that they could not be recognized. What happened was very dishonoring,” a resident of Goma told SOS Médias Burundi.

Displaced people flee again to the city of Goma for shelter as fighting continues between the FARDC and its allies and the M23 rebels, January 2025 (SOS Médias Burundi)

Several officials from MONUSCO, the UN mission in Congo, also fled to Rwanda on board transport buses.

Casualties in Rwanda

According to RBA (Rwanda Broadcasting Agency), a state media outlet that quotes Brigadier General Ronald Rwivanga, “five civilians were killed Monday in the district of Rubavu (Western province of Rwanda).” The Rwandan army spokesman attributed these killings to the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the Hutu-FDLR genocidaires “who launched shells on the Rwandan territory”.

“At least 35 other civilians were injured and admitted to different health facilities”, according to the Rwandan army which reassures the population of the west of the country bordering Congo, as to their safety.

The EAC wants to avoid the worst

The economic bloc of East African countries, EAC, has announced an emergency summit on the chaotic situation in the east of the vast country of Central Africa. Kenyan President William Ruto who is at the top of the EAC, said on Monday that the summit on the Congolese crisis will take place on Wednesday. William Ruto said that “Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have confirmed their attendance in Wednesday’s meeting.”

“Direct engagement with the M23 and all other stakeholders in the theater in eastern DRC is a must,” said the Kenyan president who holds the one-year rotating presidency of the EAC.

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are among the eight countries that make up the East African Community. So far, Congolese authorities have refused to negotiate with the M23, which they describe as “a terrorist group.” The venue for the summit has not been specified.

Recently, Rwandan President Paul Kagame strongly criticized the organizers of summits and conferences on the Congolese crisis “who are more interested in taking photos and signing documents than in finding real solutions to the real problems at hand.”

The Kenyan president told the press that it is also very important “for people to understand the problems and the root causes of the persistence of this conflict for many years”.

In the meantime, several residents of Rubavu have fled their homes to seek shelter from bombs coming from Congo, a woman journalist based in the city of Gisenyi told SOS Médias Burundi on Monday evening. She and her family members did not spend the night there.

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M23 fighters in a street in the Keshero neighborhood of Goma, January 27, 2025 in the DRC AFP -STR

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