At least 50 people killed in east Congo as government and Rwanda-backed
rebels trade blame
[April 14, 2025]
By JUSTIN KABUMBA and JEAN-YVES KAMALE
GOMA, Congo (AP) — At least 50 people were killed in weekend attacks in
Congo’s conflict-battered east, authorities said Saturday. The
government traded blame with Rwanda-backed rebels over who was
responsible for the violence that quickly escalated the conflict in the
region.
The renewed violence that residents reported in and around the region’s
largest city of Goma — which the M23 rebels control — was the biggest
threat yet to ongoing peace efforts by both the Gulf Arab state of Qatar
and African nations in the conflict that has raised fears of regional
warfare.
Goma resident Amboma Safari recounted how his family of four spent the
night under their bed as they heard gunfire and bomb blasts through
Friday night. “We saw corpses of soldiers, but we don’t know which group
they are from,” Safari said.
In the second city of Bukavu, which the M23 also controls, dozens of the
armed Wazalendo local militia members who fight alongside Congolese
forces marched for a few hours towards the local airport as they
appeared to stage a challenge against the rebels.
The group, which later retreated, declared a ceasefire on Sunday to give
ongoing peace talks “a chance.”
The decades-long conflict between Congo and the M23 rebels escalated in
January, when the rebels made an unprecedented advance and seized the
strategic eastern Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu
in February. The latest fighting has killed some 3,000 people and
worsened what was already one of the world's largest humanitarian
crises, with around 7 million people displaced.
[to top of second column]
|
M23 rebels patrol the streets of Goma, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
In a statement, Congo’s Ministry of Interior said 52 people were killed
between Friday and Saturday, including a person shot dead at Goma’s
Kyeshero Hospital. The ministry blamed the attack on M23.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka blamed Congolese forces and their
allies for the attacks. Kanyuka said in a statement that Congo's joint
operations with local militias and southern African troops “directly
threaten the stability and security of civilians” in the region.
The group said it has been compelled to “reconsider its position to
prioritize the security” of the people in the area, suggesting the
crisis could worsen.
Christian Kalamo, a civil society leader in the North Kivu province that
includes Goma, said at least one body was seen on the streets on
Saturday.
“It is difficult to know if it is the Wazalendo, the FARDC (Congolese
forces) or the M23" that carried out the attacks, Kalamo said. “Now, we
don’t know what will happen, and we live with fear in our stomachs,
thinking that the war will resume.”
——
Kamale reported from Kinshasa, Congo. Associated Press journalist
Janvier Barhahiga in Bukavu, Congo contributed.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
