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M23 REVERLS wants to take over Goma, the biggest city

Goma – Resurgent Rwandan rebels say they captured the capital city of Eastern Coma, Goma, at first, as the United Nations described “tremendous panic, among the people of Consel Advance say this war” this war. “

M23 rebels announced the capture of the city minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired for the Congolese army to hand over their weapons. Early Monday morning, gunshots were heard throughout the city, according to two suspected buyers there who were not authorized to speak to the media.

In a statement, the rebels urged Goma residents to remain calm and members of the Congolese army to gather in the central square.

M23 rebels are pushing into the heart of the mineral-rich region, threatening to escalate one of Africa’s longest wars and reclaim civilians. According to a United Nations report, more than a third of the population of North Kivu province is where Goma is currently located and the annexation of Goma will likely add to the situation.

It happened late Sunday night, supporters of the UN peacekeepers began to investigate the members of the army who had begun to surrender on the outskirts of the city.

Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya made a statement in a video posted to X calling for the protection of civilians and saying the country is changing. “

In the interim on Sunday, the special representative of the Congo told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that with the airport closed and the roads blocked in the Hub of regional security and protection, “we are stuck.”

Congo Toother Saturday broke ties with Rwanda, which has refused to support M23 despite evidence gathered by UN experts and others. A drop in violence has killed at least 13 peacekeepers in the past week. And Congo fled again.

M23 has made significant gains on the Congo-Rwanda border in recent weeks, after months of failed regional peace efforts. On Sunday night, the rebels are called by the Congolese army to lay down their arms and surrender in the local square at 3 am or they will take the city.

The Uruguayan Army, in Goma working with the UN PeatePing Mission, said a statement on X TOLEL in the evening when some Congolese soldiers laid down their weapons.

“More than 100 Fardc soldiers are protected by the facilities of the base of “Siempre Dete” pending (Imburmatoment, Demobilization and Reintegration),” said the statement.

In the photos shared with the statement, armed men were seen joining the peacekeepers in the assembly of military products and civilian clothes.

The UN special representative, Binto Keita, told the Security Council that despite the support of the UN administration in the Congo for the Congolese armed forces, the M23 and Rwandan forces entered Munigi on the outskirts of Goma, “causing great panic.” Munigi is 9 kilometers (5 miles) from the city.

Keita said the M23 Fighters were advancing and using civilians as “human shields” as others fled for their lives.

“M23 has revealed that AirSpace in Goma has been closed,” it added. “In other words, we’re stuck.” He said the UN was temporarily relocated to non-essential personnel in the city.

The Congolese Foreign Minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, told the Security Council that Rwanda could make “front aggression, a declaration of war that we can no longer hide after being treated with questions.”

Rwanda’s ambassador to the UN, Ernest Rwamucyo, neither confirmed nor denied Congo’s claims. He blamed Congo’s government, saying the crisis could have been prevented if it had “shown a real commitment to peace.”

The United States and France called for a cease-fire and urged Rwanda to withdraw its support for M23, making the ambassador of Dorothy Shea established that those would be able to support armed conflicts.

In the past 48 hours, two UN guards from South Africa and one from Uruguay were killed and 11 others were injured and hospitalized, said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The UN official reiterated his “strongest condemnation” of the M23 abomination “with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces,” and the call for a recovery team to stop all hostile action and withdraw, said the ministry’s spokesperson, Stephane Dunjarric.

Congo cut ties with Rwanda

Congo, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, which is made up mainly of the country’s Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago. It is one of 100 armed groups that have been establishing a foothold in the mineral-rich region, where long-running conflicts have created one of the country’s biggest humanitarian problems.

The Rwandan government denies supporting the rebels, but last year it admitted that MISTILE forces and programs in eastern Congo to protect its security, pointing to the formation of Congolese forces near the border. UN experts estimate a strength of up to 4,000 Rwandan troops in the Congo.

Congo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late Saturday it was shaking up political relations with Rwanda and pulling all political staff from the country “immediately.”

Rwandan foreign minister Olivier Nduhungurehe told Associated Press on Sunday that the decision to cut ties was illegal in Congo.

“For us, we took the right steps to remove our mother from the Kinshasa station, who was under constant threats by the Congolese officials,” said Ndudungureh.

M23 took Goma once before the year 2012, withdrew after visible international pressure and was placed in Rwanda.

Citizens run away from the rebel front

On Sunday morning, heavy artillery was returned to Goma in Goma, a few kilometers (miles) from the front line. Scores of children and adults fled the Kanyachinya camp, one of the largest in eastern Congo for refugees, near the Rwandan border.

“We fled because we saw soldiers at the border with grenades throwing bombs and shooting,” said Safe Shangwe, who was entering the town.

Some fled because they were worried they would not be safe in Goma, either. “I heard that there are bombs in Goma, now, now we don’t know where to go,” said Adèle Shimiye.

Hundreds of people tried to flee to Rwanda. Immigration authorities at the border crossing east of Goma carefully checked travel documents.

“I cross to the other side to see that we will have a place of refuge because at the moment, security in the city is not guaranteed,” Goma Remident Muahadi Amani told AP.

The UN Deputy Chief of Staff Chiefce Msuya Msuya Msuya Msuya Msuya Msuya Msuya Msuya Msuya Msuya, ” “If the developments enter Goma – a densely populated urban center – the impact on the citizens can be very painful,” he said.

Congolese forces said they were fighting the M23 offensive with the help of joint forces, including peacekeepers and troops from the southern African Development Mission, also known as Samidrc.

In addition to the two South African peacekeepers, seven South African and Samidirc soldiers have been killed in recent days, the South African defense ministry said.

Since 2021, the Congolese government and allied forces – including 14,000 – the UN Mission – have been keeping the M23 away from Goma.

Goma Redident Bahati Jackson’s family heard gunshots and remembers fleeing the M23 takeover of the city in 2012. But this time, they stayed.

“If we’re going to die, it’s better to die here,” Jackson said.

-PRonczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal, and Lederer reported from New York. Associated Press Writers Ignatius Ssuuna in Kigali, Rwanda and Sam Mednick in Jerusalem, Israel contributed to this report.


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