GOMA  –  The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is severing diplomatic ties with Rwanda and the United Nations Security Council has called an emergency meeting as the fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group intensifies. The three-year-old M23 rebellion in DRC’s mineral-rich east has intensified this month, with the rebels seizing control of more territory, prompting the UN to warn of the risk of a broader regional war. The Congolese troops and the peacekeepers are trying to stop an M23 advance on the eastern city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. M23, or the March 23 Movement, is an armed group that broke away from the DRC army more than 10 years ago. Since its resurgence in 2022, the group has continued to gain ground in the eastern DRC.

The DRC and the UN accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 with troops and weapons. Rwanda denies the charge. At least nine peacekeepers, including two from the UN’s peacekeeping force MONUSCO, have been killed in the fighting in the eastern DRC, according to an Al Jazeera tally. A UN official, speaking to The Associated Press news agency, confirmed the death of two UN soldiers. The peacekeepers were killed on Friday, the UN official told the agency on condition of anonymity. Congolese army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge told journalists DRC forces were working to “push back the enemy”. “Rwanda is determined to seize the city of Goma,” he said. The United States, the United Kingdom and France have called on their citizens to leave Goma while airports and borders are still open.

M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, home to about two million people and a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts. The escalation in fighting prompted an emergency UNSC meeting, originally set for Monday, to be moved up to Sunday. The UN also said it would temporarily relocate nonessential staff, such as administrative staff, from Goma. “Essential personnel remain on the ground, sustaining critical operations such as food distribution, medical assistance, shelter, and protection for vulnerable communities,” the UN said. M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern DRC, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Since 1998, approximately six million people have been killed while roughly seven million have been displaced internally. More than 237,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in the eastern DRC since the beginning of this year, the UN’s refugee agency said in a report last Monday. (Al Jazeera)

Photo: Members of MONUSCO ride on a pick-up truck as they secure the evacuation of non-essential UN staff in Goma. (Reuters)