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M23 fighters capture Goma in the DR Congo

More than 750,000 people have been displaced by violence in eastern Congo this year.

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Some 767,000 have been displaced in the east of Congo, and with no end to the fighting in sight, their plight remains dire.
By Phil Moore
Published On 23 Nov 2012

M23 rebels, a movement that is just six months old, have taken Goma, a major city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It took them just four days to advance on the city, defeating the government army and proving the United Nations peacekeepers impotent, who had vowed to defend the major city on the Rwandan border.

Following running gun-battles in Goma on Tuesday morning, the rebels marched down major boulevards just after midday, unhindered by UN troops who watched on as they reached the shore of Lake Kivu.

Despite minor bursts of gun-fire throughout the afternoon, the city was largely calm by evening. The following morning, residents woke to their new masters, who announced their intention to march on Bukavu, the capital of a neighbouring province, whilst bodies still lay in the streets.

More than 750,000 people have been displaced by violence in eastern Congo this year, and on Thursday their number increased as fresh fighting broke out in Sake, some 26km from Goma. The rebels had secured the town – en-route to Bukavu – the previous day, but afternoon gun-battles and mortar fire caused tens of thousands to flee.

With no end to the fighting in sight, the situation remains precarious.

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M23 rebels stood at the gates of Goma earlier this week, having rapidly gained ground against the Congolese government army.
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The United Nations had vowed to protect the city against an imminent rebel advance, patrolling the city and holding defensive positions outside the city.
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The Congolese army deployed heavily throughout the city as they were beaten back from the city(***)s outskirts.
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Despite the defences of the army, and the support by the United Nations, on Tuesday rebels marched into Goma, rapidly securing the border with Rwanda.
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Coming from the north, they advanced throughout the city up to the shore of Lake Kivu.
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The following day, Wednesday, rebels held a public rally, inviting the local population to come to hear what the rebels stand for.
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The rally was also an opporunity for government police officers to surrender and to join the rebel force.
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M23 rebel spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Vianney Kazarama addressed thousands of residents of Goma, saying that M23 would push-on from Goma and onto Bukavu.
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As the city woke to its new masters, bodies from the previous day(***)s battle still lay in the streets.
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Lokuli Loleko Prince, 24, had learned that his father had been killed in the fighting, but only found his body in the streets the next day.
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Many civilians were also injured in the fighting. Twelve year-old Kakule Elie was hit in the arm by a stray bullet, resulting in his arm being amputated.
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By Thursday, life returned to a degree of normality in the restive city. The armed policemen were the same, but their allegencies had changed from government to rebels.
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But for the thousands who had fled fighting in Goma, respite would be short-lived as fighting broke out in the town of Sake, to the west of Goma.
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As tens of thousands fled the town, M23 rebels from Goma ran towards the town to try and maintain their advances.
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Oxfam estimtes that 120,000 are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, and Thursday(***)s exodus adds massive numbers to this.