A large number of troops from Rwanda poured across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help rebels seize the regional capital of Goma, ahead of an emergency UN meeting on the crisis on Sunday. The intelligence chief has warned.
Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) soldiers are believed to have secretly crossed into eastern DRC over the past few days to support lightning attacks by the M23 militia.
Officials speaking to Observer on condition of anonymity said the RDF had increased pressure on the Congolese city by amassing troops on the Rwandan side of the border, a few hundred meters from central Goma.
Most of the RDF’s most senior commanders are said to have been deployed to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi, less than a mile across the border from Goma.
“The Rwandan army is lining the border and ready to invade,” said a source with knowledge of the RDF and real-time intelligence.
Violent skirmishes between M23 Advanced units and the Congolese army were reported on the outskirts of Goma throughout Saturday. Thirteen UN peacekeepers were killed in the fighting, nine from the South African peacekeepers, three from the Malawi Defense Force and an Uruguayan member of the UN force killed while four others were wounded. I did.
The front line appears to be moving closer to the outskirts of Goma. One source says the fighting is mostly within city limits, with fighting bypassing vast refugee camps housing more than 1 million people.
A major attack by the Rwandan-backed M23 was thwarted overnight, a Congolese military source said.
“The defense of Goma is just holding out, but they (Rwanda) want to take Goma before the UNSC (United Nations Security Council),” said a senior intelligence source requesting anonymity. Suji said.
Meanwhile, the DRC recalled diplomats from Rwanda asking Rwanda to cease diplomatic and consular activities in the Congolese capital Kinshasa within 48 hours, according to a leaked foreign affairs letter to Rwanda’s embassy.
The United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the crisis.
When M23 captured Goma in 2012, its forces were quickly withdrawn as Rwanda came under intense international pressure to end its support for the militia. This time, intelligence sources believe Rwanda wants to take control of the city before the West can summon an effective response.
Such a move would depend on M23 units actively breaching the defenses of Goma, routing Congolese forces and assuming control of the city of more than 1 million people on the northern shore of Lake Kivu.
Before the recent influx of Rwandan troops, UN experts estimated that up to 4,000 RDF personnel were operating within the DRC.
Sources also warn that Rwanda wants to not stop at Goma and capture the city of Bukavu, near the border at the southern end of Lake Kivu.
The M23 insurgency in DRC’s mineral-rich east has intensified this year, with rebels seizing control of more territory. Last week, they took control of Minova, an important town along one of sesame’s main supply routes.
Two days later they captured the town, 12 miles from Goma and previously the Army’s main defensive position against M23. Development threatens Sesame’s supply of food and basic supplies.
Speaking to the Observer on Saturday, Clement de Montjoy of Human Rights Rights Watch said: “The situation is dire. Today we are hearing reports of fighting north and west of the city, and water and power shortages in the city.
“Given the huge number of civilians seeking refuge in Goma, we must put pressure on all parties.
Many analysts are critical of the West’s response to the crisis, particularly its failure to rein in Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame. Britain, the United States and France (three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council) have been accused by critics of being too close to Kagame.
In a statement on Saturday, the EU said:
The Rwandan government says it does not substantiate M23, but it had not disappeared by the time it went to press.
