M23 rebels kill 13 foreign peacekeepers in DR Congo happymamay

13 soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were killed in clashes with rebels from the M23 movement.

The South African army said that nine of its soldiers were killed while helping the rebels repel the rebel advance in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Congo, while three Malawians and a Uruguayan citizen were killed.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke to the leaders of both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, amid global calls for an end to the violence.

The United Nations is withdrawing all non-essential staff from Goma – a city with a population of more than 1 million – as fighting intensifies.

The UN Security Council meeting on the bloody clashes, which was scheduled to be held on Monday, was postponed to Sunday due to the escalation of the conflict.

The M23 movement called on Congolese forces in Goma to surrender to avoid bloodshed. While the Democratic Republic of the Congo cut diplomatic relations with neighboring Rwanda, accusing the country of being behind the rebellion.

This step comes after the M23 fighters The Congolese military governor was killed Who was visiting the front lines on Thursday. Earlier in January, they captured two major cities in eastern Congo, Minova and Masisi.

Macron’s office said he called for an end to the fighting in two separate calls with the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda on Saturday.

Agence France-Presse reported that European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged the M23 movement to halt its advance and condemned Rwanda’s support for the group.

Another condemnation came from Angolan President João Lourenço, the African Union mediator between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who condemned the “irresponsible actions of the M23 movement and its supporters” and called for an “immediate cessation” of the fighting to spare civilian lives, according to Agence France-Presse. news agency.

Fighting between the M23 and the DRC army has raged since the beginning of the year, with the rebels controlling more territory than ever before.

The conflict has already caused more than 400,000 people to flee their homes this year, according to the United Nations.

Local leaders said last week that more than 200 civilians had been killed in areas controlled by the M23, and that Goma hospitals were treating hundreds of patients.

Martin Gordon, the Anglican bishop of Goma, told the BBC that fighting in the country had continued for “a very long time” and that people would “do anything for peace.”

In the past few days, several countries have urged their citizens to leave Goma, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States.

Human Rights Watch has warned of escalating risks to civilians as the Congolese army fights M23 rebels. The humanitarian organization accused both sides of committing grave violations against civilians.

The United Nations warned that the ongoing conflict is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.

The M23 movement has controlled vast swathes of mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2021. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Nations say the M23 movement is supported by Rwanda. The Rwandan authorities did not confirm or deny this.

Rwanda previously said that authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were working with some of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The M23 movement formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the Tutsi population in eastern DRC, who have long complained of persecution and discrimination.

However, Rwanda’s critics accuse it of using the M23 to plunder eastern DRC’s minerals, such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.

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