Fighting across the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and "is still very much ongoing ... it's not over yet," senior U.N. official in Congo, Bruno Lemarquis, said on Monday after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels claimed to have control of Goma.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where fierce fighting raged as Kigali-backed fighters closed in on the major city of Goma.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels triggered the ongoing hostilities by launching an offensive north of Goma, on Oct. 26, 2023, in violation of the Luanda process.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday spoke separately with the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda about the escalating conflict in eastern Congo, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
It was around 1:25 am, in the wee hours of Monday, January 27, when the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator to Rwanda, Ozonnia Ojielo, received an official letter from his counterpart in DR Congo,
Congolese forces were losing control of the city of Goma on Wednesday after rebel groups backed by Rwanda took over the airport and shared plans to set up a new administration.
The Congolese army and peacekeepers are trying to stop an M23 advance on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo are closing in on a key city in the mineral-rich region aided by neighboring Rwanda’s army, the head of a peacekeeping mission told United Nations Security Council members during an emergency meeting on Sunday.
Protesters in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been burning portraits of Rwanda's president and tearing up Rwandan flags as M23 rebels have taken control of most of the eastern city of Goma.
Kenya has announced a virtual crisis summit, but Congolese state media says President Felix Tshisekedi will not attend.
The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have released captured Romanian mercenaries who were fighting with the Congolese army. As they passed a border, they were chastised by Willy Ngoma, who tapped them mockingly one by one.