Chaos erupts in Congo with Goma the scene of fierce clashes between the Congolese army and the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group, whose soldiers entered the region's main city with the rebels on Sunday evening.
Heavy fighting has left dozens dead and hundreds injured, not only among civilians but also among soldiers deployed as part of two regional forces and the UN in support of Kinshasa. Kinshasa has asked the United Nations to impose sanctions on Kigali, whose reinforcements to M23 would be "a declaration of war". The clashes are also putting the Ebola laboratory in Goma at risk, according to the Red Cross, which warns that the violence could cause samples of the virus and other pathogens stored in the facility of the national institute for biomedical research to escape "with unimaginable consequences if the samples were to spread".
Tensions over the escalation of the long-standing conflict have led protesters to attack the embassies of France, Belgium, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya in the capital Kinshasa. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met with the Italian ambassador in Kinshasa, whose headquarters was not attacked and is in constant contact with the 15 Italians who remain in the country, mostly religious, aid workers and residents . The Farnesina has made it known that it is closely following the unrest in the African nation, inviting people to contact the Crisis Unit or the embassy in Kinshasa for any need.
The EU has called for "the protection of diplomats, according to the Vienna Convention", also condemning "the renewed offensive of the M23 supported by the Rwandan armed forces" in violation of the agreed ceasefire. Accusations that echo those of the international community: the UN has in fact denounced the "blatant contempt" for Congolese sovereignty also defended by the new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, during a phone call with the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But no condemnation seems to stop the advance of the rebels and Rwandan troops, who have also taken control of the Goma airport.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to suspend food aid in the city, which is already suffering from food shortages. The European Commission has announced new humanitarian aid "for an initial value" of 60 million euros destined for Congo in 2025, but without peace no support will be able to lift up a population devastated by years of violence with over 400,000 displaced this year alone, according to recent UN estimates.
In the emergency meeting convened today, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union urged the M23 to "lay down their arms" and "to find a peaceful solution to the conflict" . With the same wishes, the President of Kenya and the East African Community, William Ruto, invited his Congolese counterpart, Félix Tshisekedi, and Rwandan, Paul Kagame, "to listen to the call for peace that comes from the people of our region and the international community".
Very rich in minerals, the eastern Congolese region is the scene of attacks by over one hundred armed groups including the M23, which resumed its raids at the end of 2021 in the province of North Kivu. It is a territory sadly known also in the national news after the killing on 22 February 2021 of the Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio with the carabiniere of the escort Vittorio Iacovacci and the driver of the UN convoy in which they were traveling, Mustapha Milambo.
(Online Union)