A UN spokesman said Friday that at least 700 people had been killed since Sunday in fierce fighting in Goma, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu region.
M23, a Rwandan-backed armed group, has seized Goma, the country’s largest city, and is pushing south while volunteers and the Congolese army struggle to repel them.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN secretary general reported: “The World Health Organization and its partners conducted an assessment with the government” between Sunday and Thursday,
They indicated that “700 people have been killed and 2,800 people injured and are receiving treatment in health facilities,” he stated.
Goma was captured following fighting earlier this week, and M23 rebels have promised to march to Kinshasa. During a press conference, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said .”If you look at the past, this has the potential of triggering a wider regional conflict,”
He added, “Therefore it is of the utmost importance that all diplomatic efforts should be geared toward avoiding this and bringing about the secession of hostilities.”
“The situation in Goma remains tense and volatile, with occasional shooting continuing within the city,” Lacroix said, adding that quiet has been “gradually restored.”
Lacroix expressed concern about the fighters’ advance towards the south, specifically towards the important city of Bukavu in South Kivu.
“The information I have is that M23 and RDF are about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Bukavu,” he said, referring to the Rwanda Defense Force, and adding that they “seem to be moving quite fast.” He stated that one concern is that they may capture the Kavumu airport, which is located in South Kivu.
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses Rwanda of attempting to profit from the region’s richness of minerals used in worldwide electronics, a claim supported by UN experts who say Kigali has “de facto control” over the M23.
Rwanda denies this — and any military engagement — claiming that its primary goal is to eliminate a group of Hutu militants founded in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
– Deeprows News
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