The rebels supported by Rwanda in eastern Congo say they plan to fight in the capital

Goma, Congo (AP) – Rebels supported by Rwanda which captured the largest city in eastern Congo said Thursday that they wanted to fight in the distant capital, Kinshasa, while the president of the Congo called for massive military mobilization to resist the rebellion and its minister Defense rejected calls to a dialogue.

Thursday, in a video message, the Minister of Defense of Congo, Kabombo Muadiamvita, said that he had directed plans to make any dialogue with the rebels “is completely burned immediately”.

“We will stay here in the Congo and we will beat. If we do not stay alive here, let’s be dead here, “said Muadiamvita, a close ally of the President of the Congo.

During a briefing where they sought to assert their control Eastern city of Goma And the surrounding territory in the neighboring province of southern Kivu, the rebels of the M23 said that they would be open to dialogue with the government, also proposed by the Eastern African Regional Bloc, of which Rwanda is a member .

Their reason, however, is to gain political power, said Corneille Nangaa, one of M23’s political leaders during the briefing. “We want to go to Kinshasa, take power and lead the country,” said Nangaa. He did not indicate how the rebels planned to move forward on the capital, more than 1,500 kilometers (at almost 1,000 miles).

The chief of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, said that he had spoken with the president of Angola Joao Lourenco – a mediator of the conflict who also met the head of the Congo earlier – and the two leaders were committed to working with D ‘Other African countries to resolve hostilities.

US President Donald Trump described the conflict as a “very serious problem” when it was questioned on Thursday, but refused to comment more, and a UN spokesman said that the agency was “disturbed” by information according to Which neighboring Rwandan forces had crossed the border in the direction where the rebels are said to move forward.

The M23 rebels are supported by some 4,000 soldiers from neighboring Rwanda, according to UN experts, much more than in 2012 when they captured Goma for the first time. They are one of the more than 100 armed groups in the running for control East rich in Congo mineralswhich has large deposits estimated at 24 billions of dollars which are essential for a large part of world technology.

Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, on the other hand, called on the young people to enlist massively in the army, while a crucial meeting of the neighbors asked the Congolese government to speak with the rebels. The chief of Rwanda also threatened to “face” any confrontation with South Africa, who complained that fighting in eastern Congo died of South African peacekeepers.

In his first public remarks from the M23 rebels Advanced in, Goma On Monday, Tshisekedi promised “a vigorous and coordinated response” of his forces to repel the rebels while reaffirming his commitment to a peaceful resolution.

On Thursday, he met the French foreign minister Jean-No-Noël Barrot in Kinshasa, said the Congolese presidency on X, noting that France provided significant support to the Congo during the recent United Nations meetings on the issue. “(Congo) expects a little more action in the face of this crisis,” he added.

Corpses, looting in Goma

Goma remained largely without electricity and water on Thursday, while the bodies of several alleged government soldiers were on the streets, horrible residents, including children.

The rebels of M23 escorted some 2,000 soldiers of the government and police – who, according to them, went – in an unhappy location, some of which singing anti -tshisekedi songs.

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Congo said the basic services are largely paralyzed in Goma, a critical humanitarian hub More than 6 million people have moved by conflict. “After several days of intense clashes, the city is now (faced) with massive humanitarian needs and has had seriously impacted response capacities,” said Bruno Lemarquita, humanitarian coordinator.

Goma images have shown that residents carrying food and goods looted in city stores and warehouses. “This is something that will exacerbate a dangerous cycle of violence, because desperate times call for desperate measures,” the Emergency Coordinator of the United Nations program in eastern Congo said Cynthia Jones said on Thursday.

South Kivu seized by fear

After capturing a large part of Goma, the rebels advanced to the provincial capital of southern Kivu, Bukavu, causing the fear and panic of the residents, witnesses announced Thursday.

Néné Bintou, a chief of civil society, said that shots and explosions had been heard in Mukwinja, a city captured at 86 miles (135 kilometers) from Bukavu.

The Congolese army was weakened that hundreds of foreign military entrepreneurs withdrew and gave their arms to the rebels. Goma residents described that they have seen soldiers turn into civilian clothes and drop their firearms while crossing the border to Rwanda or took refuge in foreign peacekeeping bases.

“Bukavu’s military bases (Congolese) were emptied to strengthen those of Nyabibwe, Bushushu and Nyamukubi” along the way to the capital, said a young leader, speaking under the cover of anonymity because he was worried about his security.

The neighbors urge discussions with M23 as tensions develop

A summit of the regional block of East Africa called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the east of the Congo and “strongly urged” the government of Tshisekedi to speak with the rebels. Tshisekedi was visibly absent from the virtual summit at which Rwanda assisted, also a member.

While African countries as well as the UN and the United States called for an immediate cease-fire, the risk of a regional war increased, according to analysts, exacerbated by the advance of the rebels in the south Kivu and diatribes between Rwandan and South African officials. The Congo is a member of the regional block of southern Africa and also that of East Africa, whose peacekeeping force expected last year after having deemed it ineffective.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed the “Rwanda Defense Forces militia” for the fighting that led to the death of 13 South African peacetakes In the east of the Congo. He also declared that his government will make sure that the soldiers of peace are “sufficiently supported during this critical mission”.

His comment attracted an angry response from Kagame, who described the South African soldiers of “belligerent strength” working alongside armed groups that target Rwanda. “If South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will take care of the question in this context every day,” said the Rwandan leader on the social media platform X.

Who are M23 and what do they want?

The chaotic situation with the M23 has its roots in ethnic conflicts, withdrawing decades towards the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when 800,000 Tutsis and others were killed by Hutus and old militias. M23 says he defends ethnic Tutsis in the Congo. Rwanda said the Tutsis were persecuted by Hutus and other people involved in the genocide. Many Hutus fled to Congo after 1994.

Unlike 2012, when the rebels seized the Congo for days, observers say that their withdrawal could be more difficult now. The rebels have been embraced by Rwanda, which believes that the Congo ignores its interests in the region and has not responded to the requests of the previous peace agreements, according to Muririthi Mutiga, director of the program for Africa to the crisis group, A reflection group.

“In the end, it is a failure of African mediation (because) warning signs were still there. Kigali adopted a very bellicose rhetoric and the Congolese government also adopted a very, very aggressive rhetoric, “said Mutiga.

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Asuadu reported to Abuja. AP Ruth journalists along Goma, Jean-Yves Kamale and Christina Malkia in Kinshasa, Congo, Mark Banchereau in Paris and Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report.