GOMA: On Friday, the DR Congo military and M23 clashed outside of Goma as UK, US, and France called on citizens to keep the dangerous east of the country, citing concerns that the situation could quickly deteriorate.
Since peace negotiations have failed, M23 soldiers backed by Rwandan forces have seized large tracts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, causing a humanitarian crises and ringing the provincial capital, which is home to a million people.
In virtual comments or in direct messages sent via email or SMS, the United States, Britain, and France urged citizens to keep Goma while borders and airports are still available.
The UN warned that the roaring issue in North Kivu province, which has caused more than 400 000 people to flee this year, may start a regional conflict.
” The number of displacements is now over 400, 000 people this year alone, almost double the number reported last week”, Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency ( UNHCR ), told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday.
In the east, Saltmarsh stated that the UNHCR is “gravely concerned about the safety and security of civilians and internally displaced people ( IDP )”.
According to him, “heavy bombardments caused families from at least nine dislocation sites on the edge of Goma to escape into the city for safety and shelter,” adding that many were living in poverty.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres was “alarmed by the resumption of hostilities”, his spokesman said in a statement.
The statement further stated that” this rude has a devastating burden on the human population and heightened the risk of a broader local war,” and that it should “immediately cease.”
Clashes erupted early Friday just 20 kilometres ( 12 miles ) from Goma.
” We are exchanging fire with the opponent on the Kanyamahoro-Kibumba plane, it is violent”, a security cause told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The M23 was likewise present in the area of Sake on Friday, according to a military supply. Sake, about 20 miles north of Goma, witnessed severe fighting the preceding evening.
On Friday morning, explosions were audible in the town’s northern districts despite how severe the fighting was. However, it is not known how intense the fighting was.
Following a turmoil meeting on Thursday, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi is scheduled to hold a defense committee meeting during the day.
The military government of North Kivu, public Peter Cirimwami, died Friday morning, according to military and UN options.
He had been shot Thursday near the front.
Citizens attempting to flee on base
In a bid to stop the M23 soldiers ‘ advance on Goma, the Rwandan army on Thursday deployed aircraft gunships that fired rocket-loads at the front.
From Goma, at least a dozen armoured personnel carriers from the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC ( MONUSCO ) were seen heading west.
Guns were also seen being transported toward Sake by armored vehicles from the Southern African development group objective in the DRC, which is there to help the Congolese army.
More than 70 wounded people received treatment from health clubs from the Red Cross’s international council at Goma’s clinic on Thursday.
Since Thursday, citizens have been escaping the fighting by base and heading for Goma’s heartland.
Goma is at the pinnacle of the conflict that has erupted in eastern DRC for 30 times.
At the end of 2012, the March 23 Movement recently occupied the area.
However, the Congolese army quickly recaptured the city following the UN mission’s support in the DRC and political pressure from the global community on Rwanda.
Political efforts to end the crisis have, in fairness, failed.
A conference between Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame as part of an Angola-led harmony process in December was postponed due to a lack of consensus.
Turkey, really effective on the African continent, offered on Thursday to guide a DRC-Rwanda counseling.
The area has already signed a half-dozen truces and truces, which have already been broken. The next ceasefire was signed at the end of July.
