Goma Under M23 Spell: International Concerns Grow Amidst DRC’s Threat to Retaliate

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Reports indicate that everyone is busy. Rebels have told them to return to business, and some locals have followed their instructions. Yet, some others (most of them) have fled Goma, which is cut off from electricity and water.  

Goma’s macabre developments are getting international attention as more and more reports are coming to the surface depicting the gory scenes. Red Cross officers recovered bodies of alleged members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the streets of Goma, days after M23 rebels marched into the city and fighting broke out.

Reports indicate that everyone is busy. Rebels have told them to return to business, and some locals have followed their instructions. Yet, some others (most of them) have fled Goma, which is cut off from electricity and water.

The Rwanda-backed rebels have aimed to exert a sense of normalcy after seizing the city of Goma.  It is the largest region in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels had called on the businesses to reopen their businesses following days of violence. However, analysts claim that it is a ploy to convince the world that things are normal in the trouble-torn country.

Meanwhile, the political administration in DRC said that its army would give a befitting response to the atrocities let out by the M23 rebels, allegedly in connivance with neighbouring Rwanda.

According to a UN report, over 400,000 residents have been displaced in eastern DRC this year, as a result of fighting between the rebels and the Congolese army.

Meanwhile, President Paul Kagame has said Rwanda is ready for “confrontation,” rejecting growing criticism over its support for M23 rebels in eastern Congo.

On Thursday, M23 forces, with Rwandan backing, captured the major city of Goma and began pushing south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. This marks the biggest escalation in the region’s conflict since 2012.

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Rwanda’s involvement in Congo has sparked strong international condemnation. Countries like Germany have cancelled aid talks, and Britain has threatened to withhold USD 40 million in aid. Despite this backlash, Rwanda’s actions on the ground seem unaffected. The situation continues to escalate in the wake of decades of instability in the region, fuelled in part by the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide.