(26 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo – 26 January 2025
1. Various of Congolese migration services officer checking documents of people
2. People at Congo-Rwanda border
3. Sign pointing to Rwanda
4. People at Congo-Rwanda border
5. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Muahadi Amani, displaced person:
“We are at the border (with Rwanda) and I’m going to cross to the other side to see if we can find a safe place because at the moment there is no security in the city (of Goma).”
6. Various of people with luggage crossing border between Congo and Rwanda
7. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Muahadi Amani, displaced person:
“We’re especially afraid for our children because if the situation ever gets worse, it will be difficult for them, so we want to spare them.”
8. Vehicles at the border between Congo and Rwanda
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of people attempted to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda on Sunday, as heavy gunfire resonated across the key eastern Congolese city of Goma, just a few kilometers (miles) from the frontline.
This came after Congo severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels and government forces raged around Goma, leaving at least 13 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers dead and displacing thousands of civilians.
The M23 rebel group has made significant territorial gains along the border with Rwanda in recent weeks, closing in on Goma, the provincial capital of around two million people and a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.
Congolese, U.S. and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.
It’s one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region, where a long-running conflict has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
Earlier in the week, the rebels seized Sake, 27 kilometers (16 miles) from Goma, as concerns mounted that the city could soon fall.
Congo’s army said Saturday it fended off an M23 offensive with the help of allied forces, including U.N. troops and soldiers from the Southern African Development Community Mission, also known as SAMIDRC.
Two South African peacekeepers were killed Friday, while a Uruguayan soldier was killed Saturday, a U.N. official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the matter publicly.
Additionally, three Malawian peacekeepers were killed in eastern Congo, the United Nations in Malawi said Saturday.
Seven South African soldiers from the SAMIDRC (Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) were also killed during clashes with M23 over the last two days, South Africa’s Defense Department said.
Since 2021, Congo’s government and allied forces, including SAMIDRC and U.N. troops, have been keeping M23 away from Goma.
MONUSCO (United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.
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