Following appeals for a safe corridor for aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people, the Rwanda-backed rebels who took control of Goma, a crucial city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, proclaimed a unilateral ceasefire in the area on Monday for humanitarian reasons.
The ceasefire will begin on Tuesday, according to the M23 rebels. The news was made soon after the U.N. health office reported that at least 900 people had died in fighting between Congolese forces and rebels in Goma last week.
The two-million-person metropolis, which is still under rebel control, is located in the center of an area with mineral wealth worth trillions of dollars. According to reports, the M23 was making progress on Bukavu, another provincial capital, and other parts of eastern Congo.
Although they had previously stated their desire to march on Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, which is a thousand miles distant, the rebels stated on Monday that they had no plans to take Bukavu.
It is important to clarify that we do not intend to take over Bukavu or any other regions. However, M23 rebel spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a statement, “We reaffirm our commitment to protecting and defending the civilian population and our positions.”
The Congo’s government did not immediately respond.
This week’s simultaneous conference of the southern and eastern African regional blocs, which have demanded a ceasefire, coincided with the rebels’ statement. Rwandan and Congolese presidents will be there, according to Kenyan President William Ruto.
G7 (Group of Seven leading economies) foreign ministers called on the warring sides to resume talks. They demanded in a statement released on Monday that humanitarian aid for civilians be delivered quickly, safely, and without hindrance.
Congolese officials have stated that they are amenable to discussions aimed at resolving the conflict, but that these discussions must take place in the framework of earlier peace accords. The Congolese government has been accused by Rwanda and the rebels of breaking earlier accords.
According to U.N. experts, the M23 rebels have the support of some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, which is far more than they had in 2012 when they temporarily took control of Goma before withdrawing in response to international pressure. Of the more than 100 armed factions fighting for control of the eastern Congo, which contains enormous resources essential to a large portion of global technology, they are the most powerful.
After years of conflict, hundreds of thousands of people were compelled to evacuate again with what left of their things due to the most recent fighting. Thousands descended to neighboring Rwanda.
There are links between the war in Congo and an ethnic struggle that has lasted for decades.
M23 claims to be protecting Congo’s ethnic Tutsis. According to Rwanda, Hutus and former militias that carried out the 1994 genocide against 800,000 Tutsis and others are persecuting the Tutsis.
Following the genocide, a large number of Hutus fled to Congo and established the militant group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. According to Rwanda, the gang is completely part of the Congolese military, which refutes the accusations.
As corpse bags were carried onto vehicles for interment in Goma on Monday, family frantically searched morgues for the identities of their loved ones.
Chiza Nyenyezi, who was crying, described how a bullet passed through her son’s chest and caused his death. According to Nyenyezi, his whole chest was exposed.
As people attempted to rescue her son’s body from the streets, a bomb went off, making it impossible to do so right away, according to Louise Shalukoma.
When I learned that my fourth child, my God, was dead, I asked myself, “Lord, what should I do?” She moaned. I was attacked in Goma by this M23 war.