On Thursday, panic broke out in Gom, and the rebels from M23 were constantly approaching the city in the eastern Congo, fighting with the Congi -Army. On the distant outskirts, there were explosions of bombs, and hundreds of wounded civilians from nearby cities and villages were brought to the main hospital.
In recent weeks, the Rebel Group has made significant progress, approaching Goma, which is home to about two million people and the Regional Center for Safety and Humanitarian Aid.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that are fighting for abutments in the eastern Congo rich in minerals, along the border with Rwanda, in the conflict that has been going on for several decades, which led to one of the greatest humanitarian crises in the world.
As a result of fights, over seven million people were resettled. At the beginning of this month, M23 took the cities of Minova, Katale and Masisi, west of Goma.
“The inhabitants of Goma have suffered a lot, like other Congress,” said M23 spokesman, Lawrence Kanyuka. “M23 is on the way to liberate them and must be prepared to welcome this liberation.”
M23 took Goma in 2012 and controlled her for over a week.
When the news of the fights diverged, on Thursday morning schools in Gomi sent students home.
“We were told that the enemy wants to enter the city. That is why we were told to go home, “said Hassan Cambale, a 19-year-old high school student. “We are waiting for bombs all the time.”
Rwanda accused of supporting rebels
Experts from Congo, the United States and the UN accuse Rwanda of supporting M23, consisting mainly of ethnic Tutsi, who broke away from the Congish Army over ten years ago.
Rwanda's government denies these claims, but last year he admitted that he had troops and rocket systems in the eastern Congo to protect its security, indicating the accumulation of Congical forces near the border. UN experts estimate that there are up to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers in Congo.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Communication Congo Patrick Muyaya told the French broadcaster France 24 that the war with Rwanda is “an option to be considered.”
Congish authorities stated on Thursday that the army pushed the attack of the “Rwandan Army” to Sake, a city located only 23 km from Goma. The Associated Press was unable to verify whether the Rwanda army took part in the offensive.
The situation in Sake remains unclear, and some residents say that the rebels entered and occupied the city.
“Residents panicked. M23 currently controls a large part of the city, “said Leopold Mwisha, chairman of the civil society of the Sake area.
The US Embassy in the capital of Congo, Kinshasa, on a Thursday notification, warned against the “increase in armed conflict near Sake” and advised US citizens in the province of North Kiwu, including Goma, to keep their homes vigilant in the event of necessity to leave their homes in a short time.
The United Kingdom also gave a recommendation for travelers, in which she stated that M23 was currently controlling Sake and called British citizens to leave the Goma until the opening of the roads.
Hospital dragged to the limit
Many Sake residents have joined over 178,000 people who have escaped from the M23 motorway over the past two weeks.
The NDOSHO CBCA hospital in Goma was overloaded to the limit, and on Thursday hundreds of newly wounded.
On Wednesday, thousands of people escaped from the fights of boats, going north through Lake Kivu and getting off the packed wooden boats in the Gom, some with their belongings tied to the forehead.
Neem Matondo said she had escaped from Sake at night when the first explosions began. She told her how she saw people entertained to pieces and killed.
“We ran away, but unfortunately” did not succeed, “said Matondo.
Mariam Nasibu, who escaped with Sake with three children, cried – one of her children lost her leg as a result of constant shelling.
“When I continued my escape, another bomb fell from me and hit my child,” she said crying.