DRC has severed diplomatic relations with Rwanda following escalation of fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group in eastern part of the country.
DRC ordered Rwanda to close its embassy in Kinshasa DRC within 48 hours and recalled its envoy in Kigali with immediate effect.
The three-year-old M23 rebellion in DRC’s mineral-rich east has intensified this month, with the rebels seizing control of more territory, prompting the UN to warn of the risk of a broader regional war. Consequently,the Security Council has called an emergency meeting.
The Congolese troops and the peacekeepers are trying to stop an M23 advance on the eastern city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
The DRC and the UN accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 with troops and weapons. Rwanda denies the charge.
At least nine peacekeepers, including two from the UN’s peacekeeping force MONUSCO, have been killed in the fighting in the eastern DRC.
A UN official, speaking to The Associated Press news agency, confirmed the death of two UN soldiers. The peacekeepers were killed on Friday, the UN official told the agency on condition of anonymity.
Congolese army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge told journalists DRC forces were working to “push back the enemy”. “Rwanda is determined to seize the city of Goma,” he said.
GOING AFTER GOMA
The United States, the United Kingdom and France have called on their citizens to leave Goma while airports and borders are still open.
M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, home to about two million people and a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.
The escalation in fighting prompted an emergency UNSC meeting, originally set for Monday, to be moved up to Sunday.
The UN also said it would temporarily relocate nonessential staff, such as administrative staff, from Goma.
“Essential personnel remain on the ground, sustaining critical operations such as food distribution, medical assistance, shelter, and protection for vulnerable communities,” the UN said.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern DRC, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
Since 1998, approximately six million people have been killed while roughly seven million have been displaced internally.
More than 237,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in the eastern DRC since the beginning of this year, the UN’s refugee agency said in a report on Monday.
