Thousands fled the city of Goma on Monday as fighting raged between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighbouring Rwanda, who claimed to have captured eastern Congo’s largest regional hub.
Pockets of chaos and gunfire had some people hunkering down as the rebels marched into the city with a population of about 2 million.
Others hurried to safer areas of the province; some applauded and cheered on the rebels from the roadside, even shaking hands with them.
Many, however, tried to flee into Rwanda, marching in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic, clinging to their babies, clothes and other belongings on their backs and heads.
Goma is a key location in the conflict-battered North Kivu province, whose minerals are critical to much of the world’s technology.
Rebel groups have long fought over control of eastern Congo’s mineral wealth, and the conflict has often pitted ethnic groups against one another, with civilians forced to flee their homes and seek protection from armed groups.
It was unclear how much of Goma was occupied by the rebels, but the events are a huge escalation in the decades-long battle between the two countries.
“There is shooting all over the city. We don’t know who is shooting, whether it’s the M23 or our soldiers,” said Patrice Naanga, a resident of Goma.
The Congolese government confirmed the presence of M23 rebels in Goma, 1,500 kilometres east of capital Kinshasa, but stopped short of saying they were in control of the city.
“No centimetre will be given up!!!” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on X as he called for support for the country.
A fire at the city’s Munzenze prison on Monday morning resulted in the escape of thousands of inmates.
“All the prisoners who were detained came out, whether women, men or minors, everyone came out,” said Mwamisyo Ndungo, one of the escapees, who estimated that more than 2,000 fled the facility.
The M23 group, which neighbouring Rwanda backs, is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region as part of a decades-long conflict.
The rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012 and resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congo’s government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied providing such support.
Analysts have warned the latest escalation of hostilities could further destabilize the region, which is already home to one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises with more than six million people displaced. More than a third of North Kivu’s population are among the displaced, according to a UN report.
In a statement late on Sunday, the UN Security Council called on the M23 to immediately reverse its advances.
“The members of the Security Council condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC … and that the M23 put an end to the establishment of parallel administrations in the DRC territory,” the statement added, referring to Congo’s other name.
The rebels announced on Monday that they had captured the city just as a deadline they gave to Congolese security forces to surrender their weapons was about to expire. The rebels asked the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium and urged residents to remain calm.
Congolese government officials have said the country is “in a war situation” and accused Rwanda of committing “a frontal aggression (and) a declaration of war”.
The country severed ties with Rwanda over the weekend. Recent attempts at diplomatic talks between the two countries failed.
The reported advance into Goma is the culmination of a prolonged battle between the rebels and the Congolese security forces during which several towns fell to the rebels.
On Sunday, hundreds of residents marched in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic as they tried to flee Goma into Rwanda, carrying their babies, clothes and other belongings on their backs and heads.
The UN’s special representative for Congo Bintou Keita told an emergency meeting of the Security Council late on Sunday that “we are trapped,” with the airport shut down and roads blocked.
At least 13 UN peacekeepers have been killed in the hostilities in the past week. The UN peacekeeping force, also known as Monusco, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.
The Uruguayan army, in Goma serving with the UN peacekeeping mission, said on X on Sunday that more than 100 Congolese soldiers were laying down their weapons.
