M23 rebels claim they have captured Goma
UN demands M23 halt attacks; Rwandan troop presence escalates crisis.
The UN Security Council on Sunday demanded that M23 rebels halt their ongoing offensive and advance towards Goma and that “external forces” in the region immediately withdraw.
The Council “condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC,” it said in a statement.
“The members of the Security Council are also deeply alarmed by continued occurrences of GPS jamming and spoofing activities in support of M23 operations in North Kivu,” the statement added.
M23 rebels claim they have taken control of the key eastern DRC city of Goma early Monday.
The rebels had announced the city’s capture in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to disarm and surrender expired.
M23 urged residents of Goma to remain calm and for Congolese forces to gather at the central stadium.
Kenya announced on Sunday that DRC and Rwanda had agreed to attend a summit in the next two days to discuss the crisis in eastern DRC.
Kenyan President William Ruto thanked DRC President Etienne Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame for agreeing to attend the extraordinary summit of the East African Community regional bloc “within the next 48 hours.”
The talks would “deliberate on this crisis and chart a way forward”, said Ruto.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) top diplomat on Sunday accused neighbor Rwanda of issuing a “declaration of war” by sending more troops over the border.
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council Sunday brought forward by a day in response to the crisis Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said: “This is a frontal assault, a declaration of war that no longer hides behind diplomatic artifice.”
Kayikwamba urged the Security Council to “impose targeted sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans” on Rwandan officials in response to the developing situation in the eastern DRC.
The AFP news agency reported that between 500 and 1,000 Rwandan soldiers arrived on Sunday to reinforce the M23 near Goma and cited UN sources with the information.
A file photo of M23 rebels are seen near Goma, eastern DR Congo. EPA/STR
