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Witnesses say they saw rebels entering the center of the eastern city of Goma in the midst of shooting, while the UN calls for the end of the offensive.
Hours later, a firing was spread in parts of the Goma, the largest city in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Supported by Rwanda rebels M23 They said they had captured it despite the UN Security Council call to terminate the offensive.
The armed group announced the capture of the city in a statement early on Monday, as the Government of the DRC said their offensive was “declaring war” by Rwanda, and the UN said the conquest caused a “mass panic” among the two Goma residents.
The M23 claim came minutes before the expiration of the 48-hour period given to Congoan troops to hand over their weapons. His fighters also called on the residents of Goma to remain calm and the members of the military of the DRC to gather at the central stadium.
Two witnesses told Reuters agency that the rebels entered the center of Goma. One of them shared a short video showing the streets walking on the streets, the agency reports.
The progress of the rebel Alliance M23 forced thousands in the Minerals-rich East of the DRC to leave their homes and gave rise to fears that it has been a smaller conflict that has been rising from increasing a wider regional war again.
The M23 fighters have been conflicted with the Congoan army and UN peacekeepers on the outskirts of Goma for several days.
The battle for the key city is the latest head of battles in the Eastern DRC, an unstable area that has been fighting regional rivalries, ethnic disputes and conflicts of armed militia for more than three decades, causing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.
In a video posted on X, the Government spokesman Patrick Muya called for the protection of civilians and said the country was “in a war situation”.
Angry with the M23 onset to Goma, DRC interrupted its connections with Rwanda On Saturday, the UN for sanctions on its neighbor.
With increasing international pressure to end the battle for Goma Kenya, on Sunday, DRC President Felix Chiseked and Rwanda President Paul Kagame have agreed to attend a summit over the next two days.
Kenya President William Ruto called on both leaders to “listen to the call for peace from people in our region and the international community.”
Ruto, chairman of the Bloc of the East African Community, will hold an emergency meeting on state heads on the situation, said Corrir Sing'Ei, Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya.
At an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday in response to the crisis, Kinshasa's first diplomat warned that more Rwandi troops were crossing the border “in an open and intentional violation of sovereignty”.
“This is a frontal attack, a declaring war that is no longer hiding behind a diplomatic fiction,” said Foreign Minister of DRC Theresa Kaikuamba Wagner.
Kigali rejected statements that they “did not provide any decisions” and accused Kinshas of causing the recent escalation.
“The fighting near the border with Rwanda continues to pose a serious threat to Rwanda's security and territorial integrity and impose a sustainable defense position of Rwanda,” said Rwanda's Foreign Ministry.
UN experts say Rwanda deployed 3000-4,000 soldiers and provided considerable fire power, including rockets and snipers, to support the M23 in the battles in the DRC.
In a statement late on Sunday, the UN Security Council called for the withdrawal of aggressive “external forces” in the region, but did not explicitly name them.
The statement came after UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Rwanda to withdraw his armed forces from the DRC – a call rejected by Kigali.
About a dozen foreign peacekeepers were killed in the escalating clashes.
