Red Cross escorts over 1,000 disarmed Congolese soldiers from
rebel-controlled city to capital
[May 16, 2025]
By JUSTIN KABUMBA AND MARK BANCHEREAU
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Over a thousand disarmed Congolese soldiers and
police officers, along with their families, have safely been transferred
from the rebel-controlled city of Goma in eastern Congo to the capital
over the last two weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross
announced Thursday.
The soldiers and police officers had been taking refuge at the United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Congo’s base since January, when the
decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated as the Rwanda-backed
M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma.
The Red Cross said in a statement it helped escort the 1,359 disarmed
members of the government forces and their families from Goma to the
capital Kinshasa between April 30 and May 15th, traveling nearly 2,000
kilometers (1,240 miles) and across a front line.
The ICRC said it accompanied several convoys on the road, while
transport by helicopter and plane was carried out by the United Nations
Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo and the country’s armed
forces.
“The operation has been a success, it has enabled those transported to
Kinshasa to get back in touch with their families and, we hope, will
reduce tensions in the city of Goma,” Myriam Favier, head of the ICRC’s
sub-delegation in Goma, said.
The transfer of the government forces was the result of an agreement
reached between the Congolese government, the rebels, the U.N. mission
and the ICRC, which was called upon as a neutral intermediary, the Red
Cross said, adding that it made sure that all the individuals had
consented to being transported in the convoys.
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For security reasons, no media outlets were allowed to film or
photograph the operation.
The news of the successful transfer comes amid persistent tensions
in eastern Congo, where fighting between Congo’s army and M23
continues, despite both sides having agreed to work toward a truce
last month.
Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of
armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the
border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world’s
largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people
displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year.
The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring
Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march
as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000
miles) to the west.
On Thursday, Congolese authorities accused Rwanda’s army and M23 of
having killed dozens and abducted thousands in eastern Congo.
Last week, Congo and Rwanda submitted a draft peace proposal as part
of a U.S.-led process, with the Trump administration eyeing access
to critical minerals in the resource-rich region.
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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.
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