Rebels supported by Rwanda, who won the largest city of the Eastern Congo, said on Thursday that they wanted to fight in the distant capital, Kinszas, while the president of Congo called for mass military mobilization to resist rebellion, and his defense minister rejected calls to conversations.
In the video, the defense minister Guy Kabombo Muadiamvita said that he had directed the plans of each dialogue with the rebels to “be burned completely”.
“We'll stop here in Congo and fight. If we don't stay here, let's stay here, “said Muadiamvita, a close ally of the President of Congo.
At the briefing, in which they tried to take control of the eastern city of Goma and surrounding the territory in the neighboring province of southern Kivu, the M23 rebels said that they would be open to dialogue with a government, which was also proposed by the regional block of East Africa, of which Rwanda is a member.
However, their motive is to gain political power, said Corneille Nangaa, one of the M23 political leaders during the briefing.
“We want to go to Kinshasa, take over and direct the country,” said Nangaa. He did not indicate how the rebels planned to be promoted in the capital at a distance of over 1500 kilometers.
Rwanda's leader, Paul Kagame, said that he talked to President Angola Joao Lourenco – a conflict mediator, who also met with the leader of the Congo the day before – and both leaders were involved in cooperation with other African countries to resolve warfare.
President of Congo Oath “Energetic, coordinated answer”
The UN spokesman said that the agency is “concerned” with reports that the neighboring Rwandan forces crossed the border in the direction in which the rebels supposedly.
According to UN experts, M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 soldiers from Rwanda, much more than in 2012, when they first grabbed Goma. These are one of over 100 armed groups fighting for control on the rich minerals of Congo Wschód, which has huge deposits estimated at $ 24 trillion and are of key importance for a significant part of world technology.
Meanwhile, Congish President Félix Tshiskedi called for young people to get into the army, as a key meeting of neighbors asked the Congish government to talk to the rebels. Rwanda's leader also threatened to “cope” with each confrontation with South Africa, which complained that the fighting in the eastern Congo meant that the South African peace measures were dead.
Desperation, plunder and bodies on the streets are reported to Goma, after the M23 Rebel supported by Rwanda claimed that they grabbed the Congish city. This is the latest move after years of fighting in the east rich in minerals.
In his first public remarks, since M23's rebels advanced to Goma on Monday, Tshisekedi swore a “energetic and coordinated answer” from his strength to repel the rebels, while confirming his involvement in a peaceful solution.
On Thursday, he met with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in Kinshasa, the Congress Presidency said on X, noting that France provided Hongo's significant support at recent UN meetings on this subject.
“(Congo) expects a bit more action in the face of this crisis,” he added.
Dead bodies, plunder in Goma
Goma remained mainly without electricity and water on Thursday, because on the streets there were bodies of several alleged government soldiers.
M23 rebels escorted about 2,000 government soldiers and policemen who, according to them, underwent an undisclosed location, some of them sang the songs of anti-Tshisekedi.
Bruno Lemarquis, a UN humanitarian coordinator in Congo, said that the basic services are largely paralyzed in Goma, a humanitarian center, which is critical of over six million people displaced by the conflict.
“After a few days of intensive clashes, the city is now (in the face of) huge humanitarian needs and seriously affecting reactions,” said Lemarquis.
Film material from GOMA has shown that residents carrying groceries and goods looted from shops and warehouses in the city.
“This is something that will exacerbate a dangerous cycle of violence, because desperate times require desperate means,” Cynthia Jones said on Thursday, a coordinator of the UN Emergency Program in the Eastern Congo.
After capturing a significant part of Goma, the rebels acted towards the capital of the province of South Kivu, Bukavu, causing fear and panic among residents, witnesses said on Thursday.
Who are M23 and what do they want?
The chaotic situation with M23 has its roots in an ethnic conflict, reaching genocide in 1994 in Rwanda, when 800,000 Titsis and others were killed by Hutus and former militias. M23 claims that Tutsis ethnic defends in Congo.
Rwanda claimed that Titsis were persecuted by Hutus and other involved in genocide. Many Hutus fled to Congo after 1994.
Unlike 2012, when the rebels took Congo for many days, observers say that their withdrawal can now be more difficult. The rebels were emboldened by Rwanda, who believes that Congo ignores their interests in the region and did not meet the requirements of previous peace agreements, according to Mulyth Mutiga, the director of the Africa program at the Crisis Group, Think Tank.
“Ultimately, this is the failure of African mediation (because) there were always warning signs there. Kigali accepted very warrior rhetoric, and the Congish government also accepted very, very aggressive rhetoric, “said Mutaga.