The UN says peacekeeping personnel and troops have been forced to shelter in their bases amid escalating clashes
Fighters from the M23 rebel group, which is carrying out a major offensive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), have taken control of an airport in the eastern city of Goma, according to the United Nations.
The move on Tuesday comes a day after the militants, allegedly backed by Rwanda, announced they had captured Goma, the capital and largest city of the North Kivu Province, in the worst escalation of a decades-long conflict between the rebels and the government.
“As far as we know the M23 forces control the airport and there are real risks of breakdown of law and order in the city, given the proliferation of weapons,” a spokesman for the UN secretary-general told reporters.
“UN peacekeeping personnel and troops have largely been forced to shelter in their bases,” he added.
Renewed clashes in the DR Congo since the beginning of the year have left bodies lying on the streets and hospitals overwhelmed by casualties, according to aid agencies in the Central African state. The fighting has claimed the lives of at least 13 South African peacekeeping troops. Uruguay and Malawi have also lost soldiers in the escalating hostilities.
“More than 1,200 Congolese soldiers have surrendered and are confined to the [UN base] at the airport,” a security source told the AFP news agency.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the violence could cause deadly viruses, including Ebola samples held in a laboratory in Goma, to escape amid reports of raids on medical infrastructure.
On Tuesday, protesters attacked UN buildings and embassies, including those of Rwanda, France, and the US, in the capital, Kinshasa, denouncing alleged foreign interference. Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya has condemned the violence against foreign property, asking people to express their anger “peacefully.”
Eastern DR Congo has been plagued by violence for decades, as the M23 fighters and dozens of armed groups compete with the government for resources such as gold and diamonds. The latest rebellion has reignited tensions between the DR Congo and Rwanda, which Congolese officials accuse of arming the insurgents – a claim that the neighboring country denies.
Russia has joined the list of countries, including the US and France, in demanding talks between Kigali and Kinshasa to end hostilities in the former Belgian colony.
In a statement on Tuesday following a meeting, the African Union’s peace and security commissioner, Bankole Adeoye, asked the M23 to lay down its arms. The official condemned the “violence by M23 and all other negative forces” and called for “full respect of DR Congo’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.”
