Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left six United Nations peacekeepers dead, UN officials said Saturday.
The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.
They may be on opposite sides of the Congolese battlefield only by proxy, but Pretoria and Kigali are now trading undiplomatic warnings. The war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is also stirring up old disputes between the two countries.
During his address to the East African Community Heads of State extraordinary meeting, Mr Kagame said Mr Ramaphosa was pretending to be a peacekeeper in DRC
Violent clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo have escalated as the M23 rebel group takes control of Goma, resulting in the deaths of 13 South African Defense Force soldiers and a humanitarian crisis.
In Democratic Republic of Congo this week, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels seized Goma, the country's largest eastern city. A force composed of South African troops and Southern African allies that had been tasked with stopping the insurgents has taken heavy losses and is now surrounded and without a clear exit strategy.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels behind escalating crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this week
Four more South African soldiers have been killed in fighting with M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the government said, taking the number of South African peacekeepers killed to 13 since the conflict escalated last week.
Regional tensions spiral as peacekeepers killed in fighting following Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group offensive
A rebel alliance spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia said it had seized the lakeside city of more than 2 million people.
President Paul Kagame said Rwanda was ready for "confrontation" as he rejected criticism over his backing for M23 rebels who were pushing south on Thursday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing the major city of Goma.