At least 773 people have been killed in eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma and its vicinity amid week-long fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels who captured the city, Congolese authorities said. The death toll could be higher as bodies are being relocated to avoid mass graves.
The rebels’ advance into other areas was slowed by a weakened military that recovered some villages from them. Hundreds of residents returned to Goma on Saturday after the rebels promised to restore basic services including water and power supply.
M23, a rebel group backed by around 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, has been fighting for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east since its capture of Goma in 2012. The conflict is driven by ethnic grievances.
The central African nation’s military has been weakened after it lost hundreds of troops and foreign mercenaries surrendered to the rebels after the fall of Goma. The UN peacekeeping chief said the M23 and Rwandan forces are about 60 kilometers north of South Kivu’s provincial capital, Bukavu.
The seizure of Goma resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis, with many aid groups warning that the situation is worsening by the day. The rebels claim to march all the way to Congo’s capital Kinshasa, 1,600 kilometers away.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/congo-goma-m23-bukavu-goma-rwanda-db52015e9e947c6c4a0154a03b1bbca9