At least 700 killed in DR Congo fighting since Sunday – UN 8 hours ago Jaroslav Lukiv BBC News The UN says at least 700 people have been killed in intense fighting in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, since Sunday.
The conflict in eastern DR Congo dates back to the 1990s but has rapidly escalated in recent weeks.
UN experts estimated last year that Rwanda had between 3,000 and 4,000 troops operating alongside the M23 in eastern DR Congo.
On Friday, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) regional bloc declared its support for DR Congo at a crisis summit in Zimbabwe.
DR Congo is Africa’s second-largest country – about two-thirds the size of Western Europe – and borders nine different countries.
UN: Since Sunday, fighting in the DR Congo has killed at least 700 people.
eight hours before.
Jaroslav Lukiv.
NBC News.
Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, has seen fierce fighting since Sunday that has killed at least 700 people, according to the UN.
M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, took control of the capital of North Kivu province, causing 2,800 injuries, according to UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
According to current reports, the rebels are heading south toward South Kivu’s capital, Bukavu.
The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo began in the 1990s, but in recent weeks, it has intensified quickly.
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo claims the Rwanda-backed rebels are vying for control of the region’s enormous mineral wealth, while M23, an ethnic Tutsi group, claims they are fighting for minority rights.
Dujarric stated on Friday that the death toll was based on an assessment conducted between Sunday and Thursday by the World Health Organization, its partners, and the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
There will be more deaths, the UN spokesman added.
As reported by AFP, the DR Congo military has established a defensive line on the road between Goma and Bukavu in an effort to stop M23’s advancement.
The defense of Bukavu has involved the recruitment of hundreds of civilian volunteers.
One young man told the AFP: “I’m willing to give my life for my nation. “,”.
South Kivu’s governor, Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, told the Reuters news agency that the government army and its allies were keeping the rebels at bay. However, this claim has not been independently confirmed.
This week, M23 pledged to keep up its offensive until it reached Kinshasa, the capital, which is roughly 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) to the west.
The foreign minister of the nation, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, told the BBC that Rwanda was trying to change the government and unlawfully occupying her country.
The international community, according to Wagner, has failed to hold Rwandan President Paul Kagame accountable for his violations of international law and has permitted him to live with impunity for decades.
The accusation was refuted by Rwanda’s government spokesperson Yolande Makolo, who stated that the troops were only stationed there to keep the fighting from spreading to its territory.
Makolo declared on the BBC’s Newsday program, “We have no interest in war, annexation, or regime change.”.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops were reportedly working alongside the M23 in eastern DR Congo last year, according to UN experts.
At a crisis summit in Zimbabwe on Friday, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) regional bloc reaffirmed its support for the Dar es Salaam.
“Reaffirmed its solidarity and unwavering commitment to continue supporting the DRC in its pursuit of safeguarding its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” the 16-member group said in a statement.
In order to fight armed groups like the M23 and bring peace to the mineral-rich region after decades of instability, Sadc has dispatched peacekeeping forces, mostly from South Africa, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Over the past week, 16 soldiers from southern African nations have lost their lives in battles with the M23 near Goma.
Humanitarian conditions in eastern DR Congo have also gotten worse as a result of the fighting.
According to Shelley Thakral of the United Nations World Food Programme, the city’s inhabitants were running low on clean water, food, and medical supplies.
“If you consider land access and air access, when everything is closed down, the supply chain has really been strangled at the moment,” she told AFP.
The United Nations refugee agency reports that over 400,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of 2025.
Nearly two-thirds the size of Western Europe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second-largest country in Africa and shares borders with nine other nations.
Known as Africa’s World Wars, previous conflicts in the 1990s attracted a number of neighbors.
