Congo said it planned a fight to retake lost territory as the M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, continued their advance on Wednesday as an East African group called for an urgent ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On Wednesday night, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi threatened the country that he might launch a military retaliation, although claiming he prefers diplomacy. He said: The presence of hundreds of Rwandan soldiers on our soil… (is leading) to an escalation with unforeseeable repercussions.
At an emergency session, the eight East African Community nations demanded that the Congo engage in negotiations with M23 and that there be an immediate ceasefire in the eastern region of the country. Earlier this week, the UN Security Council also called for an end to the rebel offensive.
Along with Kenya, Tanzania, and other nations, Congo and Rwanda are part of the East Africa bloc. While Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, attended the conference, Tshisekedi did not.
Goma, the seat of North Kivu province and a population of two million people, was taken over by M23 rebels on Monday. According to Congo, the U.N., the U.S., and other Western powers, Rwandan military supported M23 in Goma. This has been denied by Rwanda.
In what appeared to be an effort to increase their sphere of influence, the rebels moved southward on Wednesday. They approached Kavumu, the location of Bukavu’s airport, after marching along the western shore of Lake Kivu.
The events of this week mark the most serious intensification of the long-running conflict in eastern Congo since 2012. The conflict stems from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide spilling over into Congo and the fight for control of Congo’s valuable minerals.
On Wednesday, the rebels were strengthening their control over Goma, a city that serves as a center for displaced persons, relief workers, U.N. peacekeepers, and Congolese forces, while also patrolling the Rwandan border.
There was no discernible impact on the ground from a flurry of diplomatic activity, including Germany ending aid discussions with Rwanda and the United States expressing its grave distress about Goma’s loss.
On Wednesday, isolated gunshots were heard in a few Goma outlying neighborhoods. Hospitals were overcrowded, U.N. peacekeepers were taking refuge in bases, and bodies from Monday’s fighting were lying in the streets.
Reuters reporters witnessed hundreds of Romanian mercenaries, who had been employed by Congo to support its defenses, entering Rwanda at a border crossing between Goma and its Rwandan twin city of Gisenyi. One of them claimed that this was the beginning of their journey home.
More than 280 people, according to Rwanda, waited up for police officers to pat them down and verify their documents, as well as for police dogs to sniff their bags. After that, they took coaches to Kigali.
Since the genocide 30 years ago, when radical Hutus massacred Tutsis and moderate Hutus before being overthrown by Tutsi-led forces under Kagame, M23 is the most recent ethnic Tutsi-led insurgency supported by Rwanda to fight in Congo. Since then, Kagame has served as president of Rwanda.
Rwanda claims that following the massacre, some of the expelled criminals have sought refuge in Congo, endangering both Rwanda and Congolese Tutsis. Congo denies Rwanda’s grievances, claiming that Rwanda has plucked its minerals through proxy militias.
Rwanda’s foreign minister urged Kinshasa to engage in talks with the rebels and demanded a ceasefire in eastern Congo in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
In the upcoming days, the leaders of East Africa and Southern Africa are expected to meet jointly to discuss the problem. According to the Angolan presidency, Tshisekedi traveled to neighboring Angola on Wednesday, which has acted as a mediator in the conflict.