The M23 armed group is advancing on strategic zones in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after taking two key cities, the United Nations warned, underscoring the threat of a regional conflict.
Recent weeks have seen the rapid progression of the Rwanda-backed M23, which has seized vast tracts of the eastern DRC, including Goma and Bukavu.
“If our information is correct, [the M23] continues to advance towards other strategic areas in North and South Kivu,” the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for the Great Lakes region, Huang Xia, told the Security Council.
He said while the “deep intentions of the M23 and their support” remain unknown, “the risk of a regional conflagration is more real than ever,” adding that such a conflict would have “catastrophic” consequences.
The fighting in recent weeks has raised fears of a repeat of the Second Congo War, from 1998 to 2003, which drew in multiple African countries and resulted in millions of deaths from violence, disease and starvation.
The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, also expressed concern about the advance of the M23 – now “at the junction of the three borders between the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi”.
United Nations officials in Africa warned an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the offensive of Rwanda-backed rebels in mineral-rich eastern DRC is threatening peace in the wider region. [Luis Tato/AFP]
Residents gather to watch workers recover items from the burned and destroyed market facilities damaged by heavy looting following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu. [Luis Tato/AFP]
The seizure of major cities in eastern Congo by the M23 rebel group in recent weeks and statements by key parties show that “the risk of a regional conflagration is more real today than ever before,” said Huang Xia, UN special envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes region. [Luis Tato/AFP]The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. [Luis Tato/AFP]Workers recover items from burned and destroyed market facilities damaged by heavy looting following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu. [Luis Tato/AFP]The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to UN experts, and at times have pledged to march as far as the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa. [Luis Tato/AFP]
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In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congo’s main city, Goma, and seized the second largest city, Bukavu, on Sunday. [Luis Tato/AFP]Rwanda’s UN Ambassador Ernest Rwamucyo said “African leadership must drive the resolution of this conflict,” criticising DRC’s president for seeking sanctions against his country from Western governments. [Luis Tato/AFP]People gather around market stalls as residents begin to venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu. [Luis Tato/AFP]
