GOMA, Congo — Congolese security forces on Tuesday tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo’s largest city, as U.N. officials reported an unspecified number of bodies on the streets.
Hospitals are overwhelmed in Goma, while hundreds of thousands are fleeing gunfire and shelling, the officials said.
Dozens of demonstrators, meanwhile, attacked several foreign embassies, including those of Rwanda, France and Belgium far off in the capital, Kinshasa, demanding that they condemn Rwanda over its role in the major escalation in one of Africa’s longest conflicts driven by ethnic tensions.
The M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the conflict-battered North Kivu province — which includes Goma — rich in minerals critical to much of the world’s technology.
There were reports of gender-based violence and rape committed by fighters, looting of property, including a humanitarian warehouse, and humanitarian and health facilities being hit in the city, U.N. humanitarian affairs office spokesman Jens Laerke said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
“The humanitarian situation in and around Goma remains extremely worrying, and this morning (there were) heavy small arms fire and mortar fire across the city and the presence of many dead bodies in the streets,” said Laerke, adding that hospitals are “struggling to manage the influx of wounded people.”
In the capital, Kinshasa, police fired tear gas at protesters as they looted and set fires to parts of the embassy buildings. The embassies of Kenya and Uganda were also attacked, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene.
The protesters demanded that the international community pressure Rwanda over the rebel advance.
“We denounce the hypocrisy of the international community,” said Timothée Tshishimbi, one of the protesters. “They must tell Rwanda to stop this adventure.”
The attacks were condemned by the respective countries. Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in a statement on X that the National Police have restored order and reinforced the security at the embassies.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said at least five people in Rwanda have been killed and 35 others wounded in shelling from Congo. He also told the AP that while the country has “behaved well” since the rebels entered Goma, “we have been shelled by the military coalition” of the Congolese army and its allies.
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi “will have to accept talks with M23 to end the situation once and for all,” Nduhungirehe added.
While Rwanda denies that it’s supporting M23 rebels, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
The country’s goal in Congo is to protect its borders against attacks, Rwandan army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronald Rwivanga told the AP, adding that appropriate measures would be “all-encompassing,” including the use of water, air and land defense.
Goma is a regional trade and humanitarian hub that is a refuge for hundreds of thousands of the more than 6 million people displaced by eastern Congo’s prolonged conflict over ethnic tensions that have resulted in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
The M23 rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012 before being forced to pull out under international pressure, and resurfaced in late 2021 with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congo’s government and U.N. experts. Rwanda has denied such support.
It was unclear how much of Goma is controlled by the rebels, who marched into the city early Monday to both fear and cheers among residents. It was the culmination of weeks of fighting during which the rebels captured several towns in a shocking advance.
“Since morning, we have heard bomb explosions and crackling bullets,” said Sam Luwawa, a resident of Goma. “So far we cannot say who really controls the city.”
Three South African peacekeepers were killed on Monday when the rebels launched a mortar shell toward the Goma airport which landed on the nearby South African National Defense Force, while a fourth soldier succumbed to injuries sustained in fighting days ago, the South African Department of Defense said Tuesday.
That makes 17 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers who have been killed in the fighting, according to U.N. and army officials.
The humanitarian situation in Goma “is extremely, extremely worrying, with a new threshold of violence and suffering reached today,” Bruno Lemarquis, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Congo, told reporters in a video news conference on Monday. He said that hundreds of thousands of people were attempting to flee the violence.
Several shells struck the Charité Maternelle Hospital in central Goma, “killing and injuring civilians, including newborns and pregnant women,” Lemarquis said on Monday, describing active combat zones in all areas of the city.
Aid groups are reporting they are unable to reach displaced people who rely on them for food and other necessities.
“Key roads surrounding Goma are blocked, and the city’s airport can no longer be used for evacuation and humanitarian efforts. Power and water have reportedly been cut to many areas of the city,” said David Munkley, head of operations in eastern Congo for the Christian aid group World Vision.
In addition to the U.N., several countries including the United States, United Kingdom and France have condemned Rwanda for the rebel advance. The country, however, blames Congo for the escalation, saying it failed to honor past peace agreements, necessitating Rwanda’s “sustained defensive posture.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the advance by the Rwanda-backed rebels in a call with Tshisekedi on Monday during which both agreed on the importance of advancing efforts to restart peace talks between Congo and Rwanda “as soon as possible,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The Congolese leader will address the nation on the conflict, authorities said, amid growing pressure to act on the escalation.
Opposition leader Martin Fayulu appeared to suggest the president wasn’t doing enough to respond to the crisis. In a statement, Fayulu called for protests against Rwanda and for support for Congo from the international community, adding: “If Mr. Félix Tshisekedi persists in standing in the way, he will be held solely responsible for the decline of our nation and will have to resign.”
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Chinedu Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Christina Malkia and Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Sam Mednick in Jerusalem, and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.
