Nine South African soldiers killed as conflict escalates in eastern Congo Reuters
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The Democratic Republic of Congo and its allies earlier stormed the provincial capital of more than 1 million people, two military sources said. The sound of a heavy explosion shook the city in the morning.
The three-year-old prosecutor of the M23 in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mineral-Rineral East was right in January with the rebels gaining control of more territory than before, prompting the UN to warn of the danger of a wider war in the region.
On Friday, two days of fierce fighting killed two Africans sent by the UN Peacekeeping Mission and seven others from the South African Refruef Bloc forces in Congo, the South African National Defense Force said in a statement.
“The members put up a brave fight to stop the insurgents from continuing in Goma as was their intention,” he said, adding that the M23 had been pushed back.
The deaths followed an escalation of hostilities that also led to the killing of a North Kivu military governor on the front line this week.
The situation appeared calm in Goma on Saturday with people going about their business amid heavy police presence, Reuters reporters said.
The Congolese government and army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fighting situation in the area.
The United Nations said on Saturday it had temporarily suspended its non-essential workers in Goma due to the security situation in the state.
Hundreds of thousands fled
Congo, the UN and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of throwing conflicts with its forces and weapons. Rwanda denies this, but abuses in the fighting have prompted renewed calls for submission.
“Rwanda must end its support for M23 and withdraw,” the European Union said in a statement on Saturday.
The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
M23 managed to take over Goma during a previous rebellion in 2012, prompting international donors to cut aid to Rwanda. Even then, the rebels did not hold as much ground as they do now.
Insecurity has also exacerbated the Eastern states’ desperate situation with as many as 400,000 people forced to flee their homes this year alone, according to UN Refugee.
“The situation that the citizens of Goma are facing is increasingly dangerous and the need for humanitarian aid is great,” human rights said on Saturday.
The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the crisis.
