M23 rebels Poised to overrun the Eastern City of Goma
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GOMA- The M23 rebels have declared themselves the new governing authority in Goma City and the rebel leaders whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, have vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa.

The Head an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, Corneille Nangaa told journalists in Goma during a press conference said tgat their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi’s government.

Nangaa presented the rebels as the new administrators of Goma, telling journalists that they were there to stay and would get services up and running again.

Nangaa’s comments will increase anger in Kinshasa, which has accused neighbouring Rwanda of backing the rebels and even having its troops in Goma.

Reliable confirmed reports now indicate that the Rwanda-backed rebels are currently advancing towards Bukavu, the second-biggest city in the mineral-rich Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, despite international calls for a ceasefire, but Rwanda is facing a chorus of international criticism, despite its denials of direct military support.

However after the fall of Goma, President Tshisekedi said a vigorous and coordinated response was under way to recapture territory from the rebels.

“Be sure of one thing: the Democratic Republic of Congo will not let itself be humiliated or crushed. We will fight and we will triumph,” President Tshisekedi said.

According to the UN, the fighting has forced about 500,000 people from their homes, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis and since fighting escalated last week, electricity and water supplies in the city have been cut off and food is scarce.

M23 is the main rebel group in the alliance is led by ethnic Tutsis, and says it took up arms to protect the rights of the minority group in Democratic Republic Congo and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame who is also a Tutsi, accuses Democratic Republic of Congo’s government of harbouring Hutu militias who were involved in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

President Kagame has made it categorically clear that Rwanda was ready for a confrontation with South Africa if necessary, following a claim by President Cyril Ramaphosa that M23 fighters and Rwandan forces were responsible for the deaths and President Kagame accused Ramaphosa of distorting their private conversations.

Peacekeepers from several counties have been killed in the latest conflict, with South African troops suffering the highest casualties with 13 members of their Army being killed.

“If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that are well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day,” President Paul Kagame said.

The exchange of bitter words between President Kagame and President Tshisekedi marks a significant escalation in tensions between the two nations, whose relationship has been fragile for several years.

Southern African leaders are due to hold a summit today with President Kagame saying their regional force was not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation, but in contrast, Tshisekedi paid tribute to the killed SADC soldiers for fighting alongside his Army as well as UN peacekeepers.

The UN, the European Union and countries including the US and China have all called on Rwandan forces to leave Democratic Republic of Congo while the UK and Germany who are among donor countries have threatened to withdraw their aid to Rwanda in the wake of the M23 offensive.

Additional reporting by Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg