“Goma is about to fall”, deplores France after heavy artillery fire in the center of the city

The main city in eastern DRC woke up on Monday in chaos after the arrival of fighters from the anti-government armed group M23 and Rwandan soldiers.

Heavy artillery fire rang out early Monday January 27 in the center of Goma. Rwandan troops entered this large city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday evening to support the anti-government armed group M23, which is fighting the Congolese army. Several heavy detonations were heard by AFP journalists on site, as chaos spread in the city which has been under siege for several days.

In recent days, at least six soldiers belonging to the troops of a regional peacekeeping force have been killed in fighting against the M23 group in the east of the country. The conflict has lasted for more than three years, but has intensified since Thursday with clashes on several fronts, less than 10 km from Goma, capital of the North Kivu province. The international community has urged the rebels to halt their advance on the city. On Sunday evening, the UN Security Council denounced the “shameless contempt” of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC, demanding the withdrawal “external forces” without explicitly naming them.

“Goma is about to fall”Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday, adding that Paris “strongly condemns the offensive led by the M23, supported by the Rwandan Armed Forces” in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. “France expresses its solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo and its territorial integrity. (…) The fighting must stop and the dialogue must resume,” urged Jean-Noël Barrot in Brussels, before a council of European Union foreign ministers. On Friday, France, the United States and the United Kingdom called on their nationals to leave the city of Goma.