Congo has severed all relations with Rwanda and South Africa, saying on Saturday that nine peacekeepers were killed during the war with rebels supported by Rwanda in eastern Congo.
Three years of violence by M23 in eastern Congo escalated in January when the rebels seized control of more territory than ever before, prompting the United Nations to warn of the risk of regional war.
Congo and its allies said on Saturday they had pushed back the M23 soldiers, who were advancing on the provincial capital Goma. The sound of a powerful bomb blast shook the city in the early hours of Saturday.
Congo, the UN and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of fueling the war with its troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this, but the Congolese army on Saturday said Rwandan attackers were the ones who killed the military governor of North Kivu province earlier this week.
Congo has recalled its Rwandan diplomats and asked Rwandan authorities to stop communications in the Congolese capital within 48 hours, according to a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Rwandan Embassy dated January 24.
Members of the Congolese community gathered in Winnipeg on Saturday to condemn the escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, while demanding that Canada intervene to bring peace to their country.
A spokesman for the department on Saturday said the letter represented “the worst kind of political breakdown.”
Rwandan authorities could not be reached for comment as of last hour.
The injured are not peacekeepers
As a sign of international concern, the UN Security Council will meet on Sunday to discuss the crisis, diplomats said. It had previously planned to meet on Monday.
Fierce fighting in recent days has killed two South Africans assigned to the UN mission and seven others in the army of southern African countries in the Congo, the South African defense force said on Saturday.
“These members fought a brave battle to prevent the rebels from advancing to Goma as was their intention,” it said.
The Congolese army and allied forces pushed back the rebels, but fighting continues in the chaotic area, said the spokesman for the Congolese army, Sylvain Ekenge, in a press conference, adding that the progress of the neighboring province of South Kivu has also been suspended.
The situation appeared to be calm in Goma during the day on Saturday, people refrained from conducting their business amid a large number of police officers, Reuters reporters said.
The United Nations has said it has started temporarily relocating its non-essential personnel to Goma due to the instability of the security situation.
The escalation and the looming threat to Goma, home to more than one million people, have prompted renewed calls for Rwanda to withdraw.
“Rwanda must stop supporting M23 and withdraw,” the European Union said in a statement on Saturday.
M23 briefly managed to take over Goma during a previous rebellion in 2012, prompting international donors to cut off aid to Rwanda. Even then, the rebels did not hold back like they do now.
Insecurity has also deepened the already dire situation in the eastern provinces, with more than 400,000 people forced to flee their homes this year alone, according to the UN refugee agency.
“The situation facing the residents of Goma is becoming increasingly dangerous and the humanitarian needs are great,” Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.
Source link
