Congo has severed all diplomatic ties with Rwanda and South Africa and said on Saturday that nine of its peacekeepers had been killed because of an increase in fighting with Rebanda rebels in mineral-rich eastern Congo.
The three-year M23 insurgency in eastern Congo intensified in January, with rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, raising the risk of a broader regional war, the United Nations warns.
Congo and its allies said on Saturday they had pushed back M23 fighters advancing in the provincial capital Goma. The sound of a nearby heavy bombardment shook the city in the early hours of Saturday.
Congo, the UN and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of fueling the conflict with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this, but the Congo army said on Saturday that Rwandan snipers were responsible for the frontline killing of the military governor of North Kivu province this week.
Congo has recalled its diplomats from Rwanda and asked Rwandan authorities to suspend diplomatic and consular activities in the Congolese capital within 48 hours.
Members of the Congolese community gathered in Winnipeg on Saturday to condemn the escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo while calling for Canadian intervention to bring peace to their homeland.
A ministry official on Saturday said the letter was “the most serious form of diplomatic collapse.”
Rwandan authorities could not immediately be reached for comment due to the late hour.
Peacekeeper casualties
In a sign of heightened international concern, the U.N. Security Council will meet on Sunday to discuss the crisis, diplomats said. It had earlier planned to meet on Monday.
Two South Africans arrived in recent days with the UN peacekeeping mission and seven others in the South African regional bloc of UN peacekeeping in Congo, the South African National Defense Force said on Saturday.
“The members waged a courageous fight to prevent the rebels from heading to Goma as they intended,” it said.
Congolese troops and allied forces have pushed back the rebels but fighting continues in the conflict zone, Congo army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said, adding that progress in neighboring South Kivu province had also paused.
The situation appeared calm in Goma during the day on Saturday and people were temporarily evacuating amid a heavy police presence, Reuters Reporters said.
The United Nations said it had temporarily begun relocating its non-essential personnel from Goma due to the deteriorating security situation.
The escalation and the looming threat to Goma, home to more than a million people, have prompted renewed research into Rwanda.
“Rwanda must end its support for the M23 and withdraw,” the European Union said in a statement on Saturday.
The M23 briefly managed to take over Goma during an earlier rebellion in 2012, prompting international donors to cut aid to Rwanda. Even then, the rebels didn’t hold as much ground as they do now.
The insecurity has also deepened the already severe humanitarian situation in the eastern provinces. According to the UN refugee agency, 400,000 people will have to flee their homes this year alone.
“The situation of Goma’s civilians is becoming increasingly dangerous and the humanitarian needs are enormous,” Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.
