(Goma) The UN chief called on Sunday for the withdrawal of Rwandan forces, who are fighting the Congolese army in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the M23 armed group and have advanced with it until at the gates of the big city of Goma.
Updated at 11:21 a.m.
AFP teams in North Kivu
Agence France-Presse
After the failure of DRC-Rwanda mediation under the aegis of Angola, the M23 and 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, according to the UN, have rapidly gained ground in recent weeks. They now surround the capital of the North Kivu province, Goma, which has a million inhabitants and almost as many displaced people.
Fighting took place on Sunday a handful of kilometers from the city, according to consistent security sources.
PHOTO JOSPIN MWISHA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Guatemalan soldiers from the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) ensure the evacuation of non-essential civilian personnel in Goma, January 25, 2025.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who until now had not so clearly blamed Kigali, is “deeply concerned by the escalation of violence” and calls on “the Rwandan Defense Forces to stop supporting the M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC”, according to a press release released on Sunday by its spokesperson.
A Rwandan drone opened fire on Congolese positions on Sunday about six kilometers from Goma, security and UN sources told AFP.
“A TB2 drone from the Rwandan army carried out a strike on one of our positions,” said a security source close to the FARDC. According to several sources within the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), “at least two paramilitaries” were seriously injured by these shots.
Other bombings hit the Rusayo displaced persons camp, on the outskirts of Goma, according to several humanitarian sources who have not yet given an assessment.
PHOTO JOSPIN MWISHA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Civilians evacuate the region following fighting between M23 rebels and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), in Goma, North Kivu province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, January 26, 2025.
In the city center of Goma, heavy detonations have been heard since dawn, and Congolese army combat helicopters can be seen circling in the sky, according to AFP journalists.
Cars and motorbikes are circulating, but most businesses have closed. Looting by pro-Kinshasa militiamen was reported in outlying neighborhoods, according to civil society.
As the fighting draws nearer, new columns of displaced people arrive.
-“Seize Goma”
On Saturday evening, the spokesperson for the Congolese army accused Rwanda of being “determined to seize the city of Goma”. The city was briefly occupied at the end of 2012 by the M23 (“March 23 Movement”), born that year and militarily defeated the following year.
Thirteen South African, Malawian and Uruguayan soldiers, deployed within two regional (SAMIDRC) and UN (MONUSCO) forces supporting the Congolese army, were killed in fighting with the M23 in recent days, the authorities announced on Saturday. authorities of the three countries.
PHOTO MOSES SAWASAWA, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
A UN vehicle burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 25, 2025.
Rwanda “evacuated” its last diplomat to Kinshasa on Friday, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe announced to AFP on Sunday. Kinshasa announced on Saturday that it would recall its diplomats to Kigali “with immediate effect”.
The European Union called on the M23 to “stop its advance” and Rwanda to “withdraw immediately” in a declaration signed by the 27 member countries.
The African Union (AU) called for “strict observation of the ceasefire agreed between the parties”.
In the east of the DRC, rich in natural resources, conflicts have continued for more than thirty years. Half a dozen ceasefires and truces have already been declared and then broken in the region. The last ceasefire was signed at the end of July.
PHOTO ARLETTE BASHIZI, ARCHIVES REUTERS
Members of the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) ensure the evacuation of non-essential UN personnel, following fighting between M23 rebels and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo ( FARDC), in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on January 25, 2025.
The head of British diplomacy David Lammy said on Sunday he was “deeply concerned” by the fighting.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday, during telephone conversations with Congolese leaders Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan Paul Kagame, for an “immediate end to the offensive of the M23 and Rwandan forces”.
The conflict, which has lasted more than three years, is further exacerbating a chronic humanitarian crisis in the region. According to the UN, 400,000 people have been displaced by fighting since the beginning of January.
The United Nations has started to evacuate some of its personnel from Goma. The United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany have called on their nationals to leave the city as long as the airport and borders are open.
In December, a meeting between the Congolese and Rwandan presidents, as part of the peace process led by Angola, was canceled for lack of agreement on the conditions of an agreement.
