As many as 400,000 people in eastern DRC have been displaced since the start of the year, according to the UN
* DRC’s foreign minister accuses Rwanda of declaring war by sending its troops over the border to help the rebels
* UN Secretary General calls for Rwandan forces to withdraw from DRC as rebels press offensive forcing thousands of civilians to flee
* António Guterres 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
Maravi Express
UN Secretary General António Guterres has called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and on the M23 rebel group to stop its advance on the eastern city of Goma amid intense fighting.
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At a UN Security Council emergency meeting yesterday, DRC’s foreign minister accused Rwanda of declaring war by sending its troops over the border to help the rebels; Rwanda’s representative did not deny backing M23 at the meeting.
The calls come after 13 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Uruguay serving with peacekeeping forces in the DRC were killed in clashes with M23 rebels, UN and army officials have said.
South Africa lost nine nine of its soldiers, Malawi three with one Uruguayan soldier also killed while deterring an advance on Goma, where M23 rebels have taken control of vast parts of mineral-rich eastern DRC since 2021.
Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes, the UN said as in the past few weeks the group has been advancing swiftly on Goma, a city of more than one million residents, amid intense fighting.
In a statement through his spokesman, UN Chief, Guterres, called on Rwanda to “cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory” and also called on the M23 to “immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas”.
As Sunday’s UN Security Council got under way in New York City, reports of Rwandan drone strikes aimed at targets near Goma emerged.
Bintou Keita, from the UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, told the council that despite ongoing UN efforts, M23 and Rwandan forces had captured the outskirts of Goma, “causing mass panic and fright across the population”.
“Roads are blocked and the airport can no longer be used for evacuation or humanitarian efforts. M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed. In other words, we are cut,” Keita added.
Interestingly, Rwanda forms part of the peacekeeping forces as it has contributed soldiers to the UN peacekeeping force.
The UK called for an end to attacks on peacekeepers, while France’s UN representative, Nicolas de Rivière, reiterated Guterres’ call for Rwanda to withdraw its troops from the DR Congo.
Both DRC and the UN say the M23 is backed by Rwanda — instead, Rwanda blames the DR Congo for the current conflict.
Speaking at the Security Council meeting, Rwanda’s UN representative Ernest Rwamucyo said he regrets that the international community chooses to condemn the M23 group rather than the Congolese army, who he said violated the ceasefire.
“Rwanda also notes with disappointment the international community’s failure to condemn the use of foreign mercenaries in this conflict,” Rwamucyo said, adding that the military escalation “represents an unprecedented security threat to Rwanda”.
It comes one day after the UN said it would be pulling all of its non-essential staff out of Goma but essential operations are ongoing in the DRC.
Since the start of 2025 more than 400,000 people have been displaced in North and South Kivu, provinces near the border with Rwanda, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
In the past few days, several countries have urged their citizens to leave Goma, including the UK, France, Germany and the US as the M23 group called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender in order to avoid bloodshed.
Meanwhile, DR Congo has severed diplomatic ties with neighbouring Rwanda, accusing the country of being behind the rebellion after fighters killed a Congolese military governor, who was visiting the frontline on Thursday.
The M23 was formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the Tutsi population in the east of DR Congo, which had long complained of persecution and discrimination.
Rwanda has previously said the authorities in DRC were working with some of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
However, Rwanda’s critics accuse it of using the M23 to loot eastern DRC’s minerals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.
Human Rights Watch has warned of escalating risks to civilians as DR Congo’s army battle the M23 rebels. The humanitarian group has accused both sides of committing grave abuses against civilians.
Last week, local leaders said more than 200 civilians had been killed in areas captured by the M23, with hospitals in Goma treating hundreds of patients.
Martin Gordon, an Anglican bishop in Goma, told the BBC fighting in the country had gone on “way too long” and people “will do anything for peace”.
Within reach of major mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand such as gold, tin and coltan, Goma has become a vital economic hub. Its road and air transport links, and the fact that it has a huge UN peacekeeping base, has attracted a host of businesses, international organisations and diplomatic consulates.
Residents shared videos of M23 rebels patrolling Goma’s main streets following a lightning advance against the Congolese army on Sunday that saw tens of thousands of people fleeing neighbouring towns.
The M23 movement said they had taken control of the city of Goma after hours of gunfire and explosions in its streets — home to more than a million people — are now quiet, according to local media reports.
Kenya has called for a ceasefire, and announced that the presidents of both the DRC and Rwanda will attend an emergency regional summit in the next two days.
Kenyan President William Ruto, the current chair of the East African Community, said it was incumbent on regional leaders to help facilitate a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Key roads surrounding Goma are blocked and the city’s airport can no longer be used for evacuation and humanitarian efforts, the UN has said.—Content by BBC News, Al Jazeera, Deutche Welle, France24, SABC; edited by Maravi Express
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