Goma (TDI): M23 Rebels seized the airport of east Congo’s largest city Goma on Tuesday, potentially cutting off the main route for assistance to reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people, after capturing the city in an offensive that left dead bodies lying in the streets.
M23 fighters marched into Goma on Monday in the worst escalation since 2012 of a three-decade violence rooted in the long fallout from the Rwandan genocide and the struggle for control of Congo’s mineral resources.
The United Nations has heard that the rebels have seized the airport and are inside Goma, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a briefing, terming the situation as “tense and fluid.”
He warned of a possible breakdown of law and order in the city due to the spread of weapons, noting that U.N. peacekeepers and staff had to take shelter at their bases.
Also Read: Pakistan Urges UN Action on DRC Crisis
In Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, 1,600 km west of Goma, protesters attacked a U.N. compound and embassies including those of Rwanda, the United States, and France, expressing anger at what they stated was foreign interference.
Looters ransacked the Kenyan embassy.
The U.S. State Department has instructed embassy staff to leave Congo, Reuters reported citing two sources.
Congo and the head of U.N. peacekeeping have said Rwandan forces are present in Goma, supporting their M23 allies.
Rwanda has said it is defending itself against the threat from Congolese militias, without directly saying on whether its forces have crossed the border.
Dujarric stated that U.N. chief Antonio Guterres spoke separately with the Congolese and Rwandan presidents on Tuesday, urging Rwanda to protect civilians.
Violence Triggers Mass Displacement
Goma is a major hub for people displaced by fighting elsewhere in eastern Congo and assistance groups seeking to help them.
The violence has sent thousands of people streaming out of the city including some who had recently sought refuge there from M23’s offensive since the beginning of the year.
Also Read: China, Congo to Lead Africa Partnership
Just across the border in Rwanda, trucks were unloading a number of people fleeing Goma with their children and bundles of possessions wrapped in pieces of fabric.
