
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame expressed support for the U.S. stance on a ceasefire in eastern Congo but refrained from indicating any intent to pull Rwandan troops or the M23 rebels they allegedly back from Goma.
The M23 rebels advanced into Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, on Monday, marking a significant escalation in the region’s long-running conflict. Hospitals in the area are overwhelmed with patients suffering from gunshot, mortar, and shrapnel wounds.
The U.S. urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider measures to halt the rebel offensive, which has displaced tens of thousands of people. The U.N. Security Council has the authority to impose sanctions.
In Goma, located in North Kivu province, looting was widespread, but after intense fighting in recent days, the city remained mostly calm, with sporadic gunfire reported by residents on Wednesday.
Kagame tweeted that he had a “productive conversation” with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the need for a ceasefire in eastern DRC and to address the underlying causes of the conflict.
Rubio, in turn, conveyed Washington’s concern over the escalation of the decades-long conflict, which has its roots in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and the ongoing struggle for control over Congo’s mineral resources.
Congo and the head of U.N. peacekeeping have accused Rwanda of deploying troops to Goma to assist the M23 rebels. Rwanda maintains that it is protecting itself from Congolese militias, without confirming or denying the presence of its troops in Goma.
The U.S. State Department emphasized that Secretary Rubio called for an immediate ceasefire in the region and urged all parties to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Congo.
On Monday, Congolese and Rwandan forces exchanged fire along their shared border as the M23 rebels sought to strengthen their control over Goma, a key trade hub for minerals such as tin and tantalum. This marked the second time in 13 years the city had fallen to the rebels.
Sporadic Violence and Looting Continue
In Goma’s stadium on Tuesday, hundreds of unarmed Congolese soldiers and militia fighters were seen sitting on the football pitch, with some lining up for what M23 fighters described as a disarmament process, according to an unverified video reviewed by Reuters.
One local resident described the situation: “Sporadic explosions and gunfire can still be heard in the outer districts of Goma. There was a quiet night after the rebels took over the city center, but businesses have been looted. The airport, internet, electricity, and water have all been cut off.”
M23 is the latest in a series of ethnic Tutsi-led, Rwandan-backed insurgencies that have destabilized Congo since the Rwandan genocide 30 years ago. Rwanda asserts that Hutu extremists, some of whom fled to Congo after the genocide, continue to pose a threat to both Congolese Tutsis and Rwanda itself.
Congo rejects Rwanda’s claims, accusing it of using proxy militias to seize control of valuable minerals like coltan, which is essential in manufacturing smartphones.
In Kinshasa, 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west of Goma, anti-foreign protests erupted on Tuesday. Demonstrators attacked a U.N. compound and embassies, including those of Rwanda, France, and the United States, protesting what they see as foreign interference in the conflict.