Fear spread in Goma on Thursday, with M23 rebels advancing near the city in eastern Congo as they battled the Congolese army. Bombs were heard from the far outskirts and kitchens and the injured were admitted to the main hospital from nearby towns and villages.
The Rebel group has been making significant progress in recent weeks, closing in on Goma, home to nearly two million people and the region’s HUB for security and poverty efforts.
M23 is one of the 100 armed groups that have been establishing a base in the mineral-rich east of Eastern Congo, on the border with Rwanda, for decades causing the biggest conflicts in the world.
More than seven million people were displaced by the war. Earlier this month, M23 captured the villages of Minova, Katale and Masisi, west of Goma.
“The people of Goma have suffered a lot, just like in the Congo,” said M23 spokesperson, Lawrence Kakala, to X. “M23 is on the way to release them, and he must prepare to accept this release.”
M23 was captured in 2012 and controlled it for more than a week.
As news to combat the spread, schools in Goma sent students home on Thursday morning.
“We are told that the enemy wants to enter the house. That is why we are told to return home,” said the 19-year-old high school student. “We are always waiting for bombs.”
Rwanda accused of supporting rebels
Congo, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, which is organized exclusively by the country’s Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army ten years ago.
The Rwandan government denies the claim but last year admitted that it has troops and organized programs in eastern Congo to protect its security, pointing to the formation of Congolese forces near the border. UN experts estimate that there are 4,000 Rwandan troops in Congo.
On Wednesday, Congolese Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told French broadcaster France 24 that war with Rwanda “is an option that you should consider.”
The Congolese authorities said on Thursday that the army forced back an attack from the “Rwandan army” because, the city is only 23 kilometers from Goma. The Associated Press could not confirm if Rwandan forces were involved in the attack.
The status of Sake remains unclear, with some residents claiming that rebels have invaded and taken over the village.
“The population is shocked” The M23 now controls large parts of the city, “said Leopold Mwisha, President of the local community.
The US embassy in the capital of the Congo, Kinshasa, in an example on Thursday warned that “the increase in the intensity of armed conflicts near because of the province” and to extend the nationality of North Kivu, which includes awareness if necessary Leave their homes at short notice.
The United Kingdom also issued travel advice that said the M23 was now under control and urged Britons to leave Goma while the roads remained open.
The hospital advised to limit
Many local residents have joined more than 178,000 people who have fled to the front of the M23 in the past two weeks.
The CBCA NDHOSHO hospital in Goma has been stretched to capacity, with hundreds of newly injured on Thursday.
Thousands escaped the fighting by boat on Wednesday, making their way north across Lake Kivu and overflowing wooden boats in Goma, some with bundles of belongings strapped to their foreheads.
Neema Matondo said she ran away because of the night, when the first explosion went off. He recounted seeing people around him being torn to pieces and killed.
“We escaped, but unfortunately” others did not say, said Matondo.
Mariam Nasibu, who fled because of her three children, was in tears – one of her children lost a leg, she was hit in an endless pit.
“When I continued to run, another bomb fell in front of me, hitting my child,” she said crying.
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