Clashes leave 25 dead in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Clashes leave 25 dead in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Situation tense in Goma city which borders Rwanda as Kinshasa government vows to secure eastern city following rebel offensive

By Byobe Malenga

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - More than two dozen people were killed and hundreds of others were injured during clashes between M23 rebels and government forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, locals said.

Civil society members and NGOs working in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, said the clashes since Monday left some 25 people dead and 375 others injured.

Anadolu could not independently confirm the number of casualties while the government based in the capital Kinshasa said late Monday it was “working to prevent any carnage.”

The government said Rwandan forces were present in Goma and vowed to secure the city, where thousands of people have been displaced due to the rebel offensive.

Local residents said the Public Port of Goma was under attack by M23 while the provincial airport of Goma was still under the control of the Congolese army.

The city of Goma appears to be controlled by both rebels and government forces, they added.

On Monday, M23 rebels, who are allegedly backed by Kigali, claimed that they took over Goma, while Kinshasa claimed the presence of Rwandan forces in the city.

While Kigali denies it backs rebels, officials in Rwanda claimed that five of its citizens were also killed in alleged cross-border fire from Congo.

The Rwandan army also said more than 120 Congolese soldiers have been disarmed near Gisemyi, Rwanda, amid clashes with M23 rebels.

Kinshasa has stressed that Goma “did not fall completely in the hands of rebels.”

Internet watchdog NetBlocks said late Monday that metrics show an ongoing disruption to connectivity at the Goma internet exchange.


- Large parts without water and electricity

According to rights watchdog Save The Children, large parts of Goma have been "without water and electricity since Friday, and parents have no food or clean water for their children."

"People are trying to flee but with nowhere to go," it said in a statement.

Goma is home to about 3 million people, including 1 million displaced people. Save the Children estimates over half of those -- or over 1.5 million -- are children.

It said that children have already been affected by the chaos in and out of Goma, with four children wounded by explosives in the town of Minova last week and a baby injured in an attack on a hospital in Goma on Monday.

“The situation is confusing, complex, and horrific. There is no safe place to go from Goma. Every time a family flees the guns and bombs to a supposed safe place, they are forced to move again," said Greg Ramm, the country head of Save the Children.

At least 13 peacekeepers from the Southern African Development Community regional force and the UN mission in Congo were killed since the renewed offensive by M23 rebels last week.

Congo and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of backing the group. Rwanda, however, denies the allegations.

M23 says it is defending the interests of minority Congolese Tutsis, who say they are discriminated against for their ethnic links to Rwanda’s Tutsi community.


* Writing by Riyaz ul Khaliq in Istanbul.

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