DR Congo fighting: M23 rebels say they control Goma – BBC.com
The UN says hundreds of people are wounded and that bodies are lying in the streets of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo following an advance by M23 rebels on the key cityThe rebels are reported to have captured Goma’s airportUN experts and others have long accused neighbouring Rwanda of backing the M23, but Rwanda has consistently denied this Foreign embassies have been targeted by crowds in the capital, Kinshasa, with people angry that the international community has failed to stop the fightingAt least 17 foreign peacekeepers have now been killed in, including 13 South AfricansThe conflict has long roots stretching back at least three decadesBy Farouk Chothia, Natasha Booty & Wedaeli ChibelushiThe UN’s World Food Programme says food supplies in Goma are running low as access to the city’s airport and major roads has been cut off.Food scarcity and rising food prices are a real concern, says the WFP’s DR Congo spokeswoman Shelley Thakral.”Depending on the duration of violence, the supply of food into the city could be severely hampered. This is a huge test for Congolese trapped by fighting in Goma and surrounding areas,” she adds.The WFP spokeswoman also warns that people trying to get away from the fighting are facing “unimaginable challenges” because “every step of their journey is fraught with danger”.Some Congolese are even risking their lives by crossing Lake Kivu which borders Rwanda.The World Food Programme warns people face hunger if the fighting continuesEarlier, we referred to a report from the Red Cross, which said dozens had been killed in a camp for displaced people in Goma.Now, Save the Children says this camp, named Rusayo, was bombed and that as a result, a 15-year-old girl was separated from her parents.The girl, who the charity has called Julienne, ran from the explosion with her two younger brothers. She now says she “has no hope of finding her parents” and “no hope of finding food”.Julienne is being supported by Save the Children.Emery MakumenoBBC News, KinshasaKinshasa Governor Daniel Bumba is urging people to stay calmFrom Wednesday, protests are banned in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, says its governor.Anyone in breach of this will be arrested, Daniel Bumba added, following a day of attacks on foreign embassies by frustrated citizens demanding help from the international community to end the rebel assault on the eastern city of Goma.Bumba made the announcement on national TV on Tuesday afternoon, during which he also encouraged residents to return to work tomorrow and remain calm.On Tuesday, Kinshasa schools and most businesses were closed as demonstrators took to the streets in solidarity with the people of Goma.This video can not be playedProtesters have targeted foreign embassiesHajar ChaffagBBC AfricaMissiles are flying above civilians’ homes as fighters fire heavy artillery in Goma’s city centre, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson tells the BBC.”It is a very densely populated area… there are lots of victims in terms of civilians, Myriam Favier says.Despite this violence, some shops in Nyiragongo, an area in northern Goma, have been able to open over the last few hours.”This allowed people to buy food, but since the escalation of violence this
weekend, there has been no electricity, which means there is no water in the
city either,” Ms Favier says.Photographers have been capturing the lives of the Congolese people – whether they are in Kinshasa, Sake or across the border in Rwanda – following the ferocious fighting in the eastern city of Goma.Protests expressing anger at the situation in Goma turned violent in capital city Kinshasa.A man stares out from the remains of his house in Sake, a town near Goma that was captured by rebels last week.Congolese refugees fled across the border to the Rwandan town of Gisenyi.There, this young man struck a pose for the camera.And after arriving at a camp, this Congolese woman partook in some hair-styling.Some troops from the Congolese army also made it over the border and surrendered themselves to their Rwandan counterparts.As women and girls “are at the higher risk of violence including rape” the World Health Organization is “especially worried for their health and safety” in Goma, the body’s Democratic Republic Congo representative Adelheid Marschang has said.”Pregnant women are at risk with very high maternal death rates, even before this recent escalation of violence,” added Dr Marschang at a news conference earlier.According to the UN, there are reports of rapes committed by fighters in Goma. All this as battles are continuing across the city, and many dead bodies lie the streets.Local hospitals are overwhelmed, humanitarian agencies have said.”Capacities to deal with the newly injured are stretched and WHO is working with authorities and partners to identify solutions and to increase local capacities to deal with this,” said Dr Marschang.The medical charity MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, has spoken of the difficulty in providing urgent medical treatment to those in need in Goma and surrounding areas.”That’s one of our main concerns,” said MSF aid coordinator Djoen Besselink.”How do people find the healthcare that they need because with almost a million people displaced within Goma, violence around, humanitarians [who have] left Goma, how do you make sure people get this?”Hospitals are overwhelmed with hundreds of injured civiliansThe AFP news agency is now citing a security source as saying that Goma’s airport is in the hands of the M23.”They have taken control of the airport, M23 fighters are there,” AFP quotes the anonymous source as saying.”More than 1,200 Congolese soldiers have surrendered and are confined to the [UN base] at the airport.”Earlier, the rebels had claimed control and the Reuters news agency confirmed this with diplomatic and security sources.Rusayo is home to tens of thousands of peopleDozens of civilians at a camp for displaced people have been killed in the ongoing fighting, the International Committee of The Red Cross (ICRC) says.Conflict in the region in recent years has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.The ICRC adds that Rusayo camp – located on the outskirts of Goma – was caught up in clashes this week, even though it is protected by international law.Medical facilities supported by the ICRC in Goma are receiving wounded people who have been transported by motorbike and bus.Victims continue to arrive in their dozens, the statement says, adding that the ICRC has treated more than 600 injured people in Goma since the beginning of January.The African Union’s peace and security council is pushing for a cessation of hostilities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following a major offensive by the M23 rebel group.The council is holding an emergency meeting at the moment, where it is also focusing on the need to end the conflict through dialogue, the protection of civilians and peacekeepers and humanitarian access to conflict-hit areas, the union’s Political Affairs, Peace and Security department said in a post on X.African Union Commissioner Bankole Adeoye urged the M23 to lay down its arms and called for the “full respect of DR Congo’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity”.Two staff members at Kenya’s embassy in DR Congo’s capital,
Kinshasa, had to escape and seek refuge elsewhere as protesters targeted the
building earlier today, Kenya’s government has said.Angry crowds complaining about the rebel assault on Goma
also attacked the embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, France and Belgium.In its statement, Kenya’s foreign ministry said it was deeply concerned by the
attacks describing them as “unwarranted”.It added that there had been looting,
and destruction of property.The statement alleged that while the attack on the embassy happened “in the full glare” of DR Congo’s security officers, they “took no action to mitigate
the situation”. It described what happened as a violation of international law
as host governments are required to protect embassies.Protesters also targeted the Ugandan embassy and burnt the flag of the East African CommunityRwanda is said to receive $1bn (£800m) a year in foreign aidFurious Congolese demonstrators see Rwanda as the “donor darling” enriching itself and possibly “annexing” part of the country’s mineral-wealthy east, says analyst Michaela Wrong.Speaking to the BBC’s World at One radio programme, she points out that Rwanda gets millions in aid from the West, and so Congolese citizens believe the West can stop the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels if it wants to.Yet, there has been “no muscular response from the international community”, prompting attacks by frustrated Congolese citizens on foreign embassies in Kinshasa on Tuesday.Wrong and other analysts say current events are a chilling reminder of what happened back in the 1990s, when a rebel movement swept to power and installed Laurent-Désiré Kabila as president.”The fear now is that we’re seeing a repeat,” she says.A few hours ago, we brought you news that the rebels claimed to have captured Goma’s airport.Diplomatic and security sources have now confirmed the takeover, Reuters news agency reports.Residents are hoping that a ceasefire will come into forceIf you’re just joining us, here’s a round-up of the latest developments in the Democratic Republic as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels are involved in a fierce battle with government forces and international peacekeepers for control of the eastern city of Goma.Earlier we reported that embassies in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, had been targeted by protesters outraged at the situation in Goma.The BBC has now seen a video of the Ugandan embassy being ransacked. In the footage, streams of people hurry away from the building carrying furniture such as office chairs. It is a chaotic scene – some people are running towards the embassy and there is a lot of shouting.Black smoke rises from near the entrance of the building.The rebel group was formed in 2012The M23 are led by ethnic Tutsis, who say they needed to take up arms to protect the rights of the minority group.They say that several previous deals to end the fighting have not been respected – they take their name from a peace agreement that was signed on March 23 2009.Shortly after its creation in 2012, the M23 rapidly gained territory and seized Goma – acts that were met with international opprobrium and accusations of war crimes and human rights violations.It was forced to withdraw from Goma, and then suffered a series of heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army backed by a multinational force that saw it expelled from the country.M23 fighters then agreed to be integrated into the army in return for promises that Tutsis would be protected.But, in 2021, the group took up arms again, saying the promises had been broken.The conflict in Goma has worsened the humanitarian crisis in the regionA bishop in Goma has told Reuters news agency that the city is a “powder keg”. Bishop Willy Ngumbi added that explosives had hit a house where priests were staying and
the maternity ward of a Catholic hospital on Monday. “The youth are armed and the fighting is now taking place
in the town,” he told Reuters by phone.Some fear President Trump is a soft touch for RwandaAnalysts suggest that Rwandan-backed M23 rebels partly chose this moment to ramp up their offensive, because they anticipated a softer response from the newly installed Trump administration than under Joe Biden’s presidency.The grab on Goma also comes at a time when Trump’s government is scrapping almost all of the US’ foreign assistance, and pausing new aid.Crises in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere have monopolised the attention of the international community – which the rebels no doubt see as a useful distraction.On Monday the US condemned the rebel attack on Goma, reaffirming its commitment to respecting DR Congo’s sovereignty.During a call with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi agreed on the need to restart peace talks with Rwanda.Furious protesters demanding a halt to the rebel advance in Goma have on Tuesday targeted the US embassy in Kinshasa, as well as the embassies of Rwanda, France and others.A government official in the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed earlier on Tuesday that the army now controls most of Goma, in the country’s east. Muhingo Nzangi, who is also the local MP, told reporters the military had dealt a major blow to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels. But the rebels continue to claim they control the city. Footage filmed in Goma shows them packed into jeeps driving through the streets, and looting supplies from shops. Loud gunfire can also be heard.This video can not be playedGunfire in Goma as M23 rebels continue offensiveImogen FoulkesBBC News, GenevaEbola has a mortality rate of up to 80%Aid agencies are deeply concerned that the
escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could trigger the spread of disease, including Ebola
and Mpox. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the laboratory in
Goma housing samples of the Ebola virus had lost power because of the fighting,
putting the security of the samples at risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the epicentre
of the conflict was also the epicentre of a new strain of Mpox; more than
20,000 cases have been recorded in the last year, but the violence now makes tracing
and treating them impossible. Half a million people have been displaced this
month alone, aid workers in Goma report bodies lying in the streets, and
hundreds of civilians injured by heavy artillery. If a disease like Ebola,
which has a mortality rate of up to 80%, were to spread among a population
which is both vulnerable and on the move, the Red Cross said, the consequences
would be “unimaginable”.© 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
