Rebel Dr. 13 foreign peacekeepers killed in Congo
Thirteen soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in clashes with rebels from the M23 group.
The South African military said that East Dr. Nine of his soldiers died helping to repel a rebel advance on the city of Goma in Congo, while three Malawians and a Uruguayan were also killed.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he supported Dr. Amid global calls for violence. Spoke to the leaders of both Congo and Rwanda.
The United Nations is pulling all non-essential staff from Goma—a city of more than a million people—as the fighting intensifies.
A UN Security Council meeting regarding the deadly clashes, originally scheduled for Monday, has been moved to Sunday due to the escalating conflict.
The M23 group has called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender to avoid bloodshed. While Dr. Congo has severed diplomatic ties with neighboring Rwanda, accusing the country of being behind the insurgency.
The move comes after M23 fighters A Congolese military governor killed Who was visiting the frontline on Thursday. Earlier in January, they had captured the key eastern Congolese cities of Minova and Masisi.
Macron on Saturday Dr. He called for an end to the fighting in separate calls with the leaders of Congo and Rwanda, his office said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas urged the M23 to halt its advance and condemned Rwanda’s support for the group, AFP news agency reports.
Further condemnation came from Angolan President João Lourenço, who was visiting Rwanda, and Dr. Among Congolese were African Union mediators, who condemned “irresponsible actions by M23 and its supporters” and called for an “immediate end” to preserve civilian life, according to AFP. According to, news agency.
M23 and Dr. Fighting between the Congolese army and the Congolese army has intensified since the beginning of the year, with rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before.
According to the United Nations, the conflict has already driven more than 400,000 people to flee their homes.
Last week local leaders said more than 200 civilians had been killed in areas captured by the M23, with hundreds of patients being treated in hospitals in Goma.
Martin Gordon, an Anglican bishop in Goma, told the BBC fighting in the country had gone “way too long” and people would “do anything for peace”.
Over the past few days, several countries have urged their citizens to leave Goma, including the UK, France, Germany and the US.
Human Rights Watch warns of increasing risks to civilians as Congolese army battles M23 rebels. Humanitarian groups have accused both sides of serious abuses against civilians.
The UN has warned that the ongoing conflict is worsening the humanitarian crisis in the region.
M23 has taken control of vast swaths of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since 2021. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result.
Dr. Congo and the United Nations say the M23 is supported by Rwanda. Rwandan officials have neither confirmed nor denied this.
Rwanda has previously said that Dr. Officials in Congo were dealing with some of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, a genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
M23 formed in 2012 as an offshoot of another rebel group, Dr. To protect the Tutsi population in the east of Congo, which had long complained of persecution and discrimination.
However, Rwandan critics have criticized the M23 for extending the eastern Dr. Accused of plundering Congo’s minerals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.
