TRANSCRIPT
Gunfire rang out in central Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday as dozens of M23 rebel fighters entered the city, marking a major escalation in a three-decade conflict.
The Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they had seized Goma despite calls from the UN Security Council to end the offensive.
Footage shared online on Monday showed numerous fighters in the city, with an eyewitness identifying retreating DRC soldiers heading towards Goma’s port.
“Here are our soldiers abandoning the town and heading for the port. It's as if the town has just fallen into rebel hands. There's no hope left.”
Doctors from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) treated injured civilians in eastern Congo on Sunday as clashes between M23 rebels and the Congolese army escalated near Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu.
UN and aid agencies reported bodies lying in Goma's streets, while hospitals struggled to cope with patients suffering gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
Jens Laerke is the spokesman for the U-N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The humanitarian situation in and around Goma remains extremely worrying, and again this morning, our colleagues in the Democratic Republic of Congo report heavy small arms fire and mortar fire across the city and the presence of many dead bodies in the streets. We have reports of rapes committed by fighters, looting of property, including of a humanitarian warehouse, and humanitarian and health facilities being hit.”
Shelly Thakral is the Head of Communications for the World Food Programme.
She tells of the severe challenges faced by residents of Goma due to the ongoing violence.
“Food assistance activities in and around Goma have been temporarily paused. WFP is concerned about food scarcity in Goma and rising food prices, as the airport and major access roads within the region have been cut off. So depending on the duration of violence, the supply of food into the city could be severely hampered. This is a huge test for Congolese trapped by fighting in Goma and surrounding areas, of their resilience, and the next 24 hours will be critical as people start to run low on supplies and will need to see what they can find to survive.”
Meanwhile, police fired teargas at protesters who attacked diplomatic buildings, including the Ugandan embassy, in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday as anger over the conflict in the country's east boiled over.
European diplomats reported that the Ugandan embassy was among the diplomatic buildings attacked in Kinshasa on Tuesday.
On Monday, President Felix Tshisekedi met with heads of constitutional bodies in Kinshasa.
National Assembly Speaker Vital Kamerhe says the meeting focused on restoring authority and humanitarian issues, adding that Mr Tshisekedi would address the nation, though no details were provided.
“As you might expect, we have mainly spoken about the issue in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was an assessment of the situation prevailing in the East and particularly in the city of Goma. We would like here, on behalf of the President of the Republic, to congratulate the people of North Kivu, the valiant fighters of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the (inaudible). ... We have explored ways and means to restore the authority of the State at the provincial level in North Kivu, which must continue to be administered by the Authority who has been accredited by His Excellency the President of the Republic."
Rwandan officials say they are providing food and medical aid to around 1,200 people who fled eastern Congo.
Forty-seven East African truck drivers, transporting World Food Programme supplies in the DRC, reached the Rwandan border on Tuesday [[28 January]] after being reportedly trapped by clashes between M23 rebels and Congolese forces.
Alois Emmanuel Bebe is a Tanzanian truck driver.
He describes what he witnessed as he drove through Goma.
"We saw and heard terrible things. Dead bodies, gunshots, bombs; things we have never experienced in our country. We thank God we have made it out. ... We haven't had anything to eat since the war erupted three days ago. We could not cook because we had taken cover under the trucks. Bullets and bombs were landing just next to us the whole time."
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda on Tuesday about the escalating conflict in eastern Congo.
“This morning the Secretary-General spoke by phone in two separate calls, one with President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and then with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. Obviously, they discussed the ongoing situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In his call with President Kagame, there was also special emphasis on the need to protect civilians in that area.”
Mr Dujarric says there is a risk of more violence breaking out in Goma.
“On the ground, obviously, as you can imagine, the situation in Goma remains tense and rather fluid. M23 forces, we are told, are inside the city, and U.N. peacekeeping personnel and troops have largely been forced to shelter in their bases. Medical facilities in Goma are reportedly overwhelmed and essential services have obviously been disrupted. Currently, as far as we know, the M23 forces control the airport and there are real risks of breakdown of law and order in the city given the proliferation of weapons.”
