Skip next section International peacekeepers killed
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
International peacekeepers killed
The reports of the rebels’ advance seems to contradict a Saturday statement from the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) that said an M23 militants had been halted and even pushed back. The sound of heavy gunfire continued to be heard across Goma as scores of displaced people, including many children, fled.
International peacekeepers are backing the Congolese armed forces in the fighting on DRC territory.
At least three UN peacekeepers were killed in the fighting — two South Africans and one Uruguayan — while seven other South African soldiers and three from Malawi, serving in a separate Southern African mission were also killed.
Aid agencies are concerned about the conflict’s impact on civilians, and have warned that the fighting will deepen what is already one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
https://p.dw.com/p/4perw
Skip next section M23 rebels close in on Goma, forcing thousands to flee
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
M23 rebels close in on Goma, forcing thousands to flee
M23 rebels, believed to be backed by , continued closing in on the eastern DRC city of Goma on Sunday.
Thousands of civilians have been forced to flee amid an as government forces battled to stop the rebels from taking control of the mineral-rich city.
The UN special representative for Congo, Bintu Keita told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that “M23 and Rwandan forces penetrated Munigi quarter in the outskirts Goma city, causing mass panic and flight amongst the population.”
The UN says several hundred thousand have already been forced to flee a number areas where fighting has taken place since the latest M23 offensive began on January 23.
“Several sites on the outskirts of Goma, sheltering more than 300,000 displaced people, were completely emptied in the space of a few hours,” the UN humanitarian coordinator said in a statement.
https://p.dw.com/p/4perr
Skip next section UN’s Antonio Guterres urges Rwanda to pull back troops
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
UN’s Antonio Guterres urges Rwanda to pull back troops
United Nations Secretary General called on to withdraw its forces from the eastern amid fierce fighting as M23 rebels closed in on the outskirts of the Congolese city of Goma.
Heavy fighting has already killed 13 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Uruguay. Some of the soldiers who lost their lives were part of a UN mission, while others members of a regional peacekeeping force
“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and reiterates his strongest condemnation of the M23 armed group’s ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma in North Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defence Forces,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“He calls on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas. He further calls on the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory,” Dujarric said.
The M23 rebels are mainly composed of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army over a decade ago. Experts from Congo, the United States and the UN have accused Rwanda of backing the M23 armed group.
kb (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)
https://p.dw.com/p/4peqb
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