At least 13 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers have been killed in fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Congo, according to United Nations and army sources on Saturday.
The eastern city of Goma, which is home to around 2 million people and serves as a regional center for security and humanitarian services, is now surrounded by M23, which has achieved considerable territorial advances in recent weeks.
An emergency meeting on the rising violence was postponed by the U.N. Security Council until Sunday morning (10 am EST). The meeting, first planned for Monday, was requested by Congo.
With the assistance of its allies, notably U.N. troops and soldiers from the Southern African Development Community Mission, or SAMIDRC, the Congolese army said on Saturday that it successfully repelled an M23 advance towards Goma.
Kate Hixon, campaign director for Africa at Amnesty International US, told the Associated Press that the Rwandan-backed M23 is obviously taking advantage of the U.S. presidential transition to move closer to Goma, endangering thousands more people.
Rwanda is accused by the Congo, the United States, and U.N. experts of supporting M23, an ethnic Tutsi-led group that split from the Congolese army over ten years ago.
Although the Rwandan government refutes the claim, it revealed last year that it had missile systems and troops in eastern Congo to protect its security, citing an increase in Congolese forces close to the border. Up to 4,000 Rwandan military are thought to be present in Congo, according to U.N. analysts.
Much of the combat in recent days has been concentrated on a route between Goma and Sake, where on Saturday the smoldering wreckage of a white armored battle vehicle with UN markings was visible.
A U.N. official informed The Associated Press that a Uruguayan Blue Helmet was murdered on Saturday, and two South African troops were slain on Friday. Because they were not authorized to comment on the subject in public, the official spoke on condition of anonymity.
The United Nations in Malawi also reported on Saturday that three Malawian peacekeepers had been slain in eastern Congo.
According to a statement from South Africa’s department of defense, seven SAMIDRC soldiers were also slain in skirmishes with M23 over the past two days.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Uruguayan military named Rodolfo Ivarez, a member of the Uruguay IV Battalion, as the member who was killed in Congo. According to the statement, the unit is working continuously to ensure the evacuation of non-essential military and civilian people from the city of Goma and to comply with the United Nations mission.
According to the military, a number of steps have been made to increase the security of our troops, who are working under challenging circumstances. Four Uruguayan peacekeepers were also hurt, it added. A fourth was taken to Uganda for medical treatment, while the other three stayed in Goma.
The Congolese government and its allies, including as SAMIDRC and U.N. troops, have been preventing M23 from entering Goma since 2021.
Approximately 14,000 peacekeepers are currently stationed in Congo, where the United Nations peacekeeping mission, also known as MONUSCO, first arrived more than 20 years ago.
On the day of the soldiers’ deaths, South Africa’s defense minister, Angie Motshekga, was in the country’s troops in Congo as part of the U.N. peacekeeping effort.