Congo has cut off all diplomatic ties with Rwanda and South Africa, saying on Saturday that nine Peatueters were killed among Rwandan pseudo-rebels.
The three-year-old prosecutor of the M23 in Eastern Congo was very right in January with the rebels clinging to control of a larger territory than before, prompting the United Nations to warn of the danger of a wider war in the region.
Congo and its allies said on Saturday they pushed back the M23 Fighters, who were advancing on the provincial capital Goma. The sound of a heavy explosion rocked the city on Saturday morning.
Congo, the UN and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of throwing conflicts with its forces and weapons. Rwanda denies this, but the Congolese army said on Saturday that Rwandan snipers were responsible for the killing of the military governor of North Kivu on the front line this week.
Congo recalled its meals from Rwanda and asked the Rwandan authorities to stop political activities and the capital of the Congolese organization within 24 hours.
Members of the Congolese community gathered in Winnipeg on Saturday to condemn the escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, while calling for Canadian intervention to bring peace to their country.
A spokesman for the ministry on Saturday said the letter represented “the worst kind of political crackdown.”
Rwandan authorities could not immediately be reached because of the hour.
Peace damage
In a sign of international concern, the UN Security Council will meet on Sunday to discuss the crisis, diplomats said. A meeting was previously scheduled for Monday.
Fierce fighting in recent days killed two South Africans sent by the UN Peacekeeping Mission and seven others from the South African Bloc Bloc forces in Congo, the South African National Defense Force said on Saturday.
“The members put up a brave fight to stop the rebels from continuing in Goma as it was their intention,” he said.
Congolese soldiers and armed forces forced the rebels back, but fighting continues across the border, said the spokesman for the Congolese forces, Sylvain Ekenge, adding that the advance in South Kivu Province was stopped.
The situation appeared to be calm in Goma during the day on Saturday, with people going about their business amid heavy police presence, document journalists said.
The United Nations said it had temporarily grounded its non-essential personnel in Goma due to the deteriorating security situation.
The escalation and the imminent threat to Goma, home to more than a million people, have fueled renewed calls for Rwanda to withdraw.
“Rwanda must end its support for M23 and withdraw,” the European Union said in a statement on Saturday.
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 also increases the Eastern states’ Humanitarian Situation, and 400,000 people were forced to flee their homes this year alone, according to the 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.
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