Members of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) ride on a pickup truck as they secure the evacuation of non-essential UN staff, following the fight between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Nine South African soldiers have been killed in eastern Congo’s conflict zone, the South African defence department said on Saturday (January 25, 2024), as Congolese troops and peacekeepers battled to stop an advance by Rwanda-backed rebels on the city of Goma.

Democratic Republic of Congo and its allies earlier repelled an overnight advance on the provincial capital of over 1 million people, two army sources said. The sound of nearby heavy bombardment rocked the city in the early hours.

The three-year M23 insurgency in Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich east has intensified in January with rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the U.N. to warn of the risk of a broader regional war.

As of Friday, two days of fierce fighting had killed two Southern Africans deployed with the U.N. peacekeeping mission and seven others in the Southern African regional bloc’s force in Congo, the South African National Defence Force said in a statement.

“The members put up a brave fight to prevent the rebels from proceeding to Goma as was their intention,” it said, adding that the M23 had been pushed back.

The deaths follow an escalation in hostilities that also led to the killing of North Kivu’s military governor on the front line this week.

The situation appeared calm in Goma on Saturday with people tentatively going about their business amid a heavy police presence, Reuters reporters there said.

The Congolese government and army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of the fighting in the area.

The United Nations said on Saturday it had started temporarily relocating its non-essential staff from Goma due to the deteriorating security situation in the province.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FLEE

Congo, the U.N. and others accuse neighbouring Rwanda of fuelling the conflict with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this, but the surge in fighting has prompted renewed calls for it disengage.

“Rwanda must cease its support for the M23 and withdraw,” the European Union said in a statement on Saturday.

The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The M23 briefly managed to take over Goma during a previous rebellion in 2012, prompting international donors to cut aid to Rwanda. Even then, the rebels did not hold as much ground as they do now.

The insecurity has also deepened eastern provinces’ already dire humanitarian situation with 400,000 more people forced to flee their homes this year alone, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

“The situation facing Goma’s civilians is becoming increasingly perilous and the humanitarian needs are enormous,” Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.

The U.N. Security Council is due to meet on Monday to discuss the crisis.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame attend his swearing-in ceremony after a landslide win in last month’s election at the Amahoro Stadium, Gasabo District of Kigali, Rwanda, August 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Rwanda’s all-powerful President Paul Kagame was sworn in Sunday for a fourth term, saying regional peace was a “priority” in the face of ongoing conflict in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mr. Kagame swept to victory in elections last month with a staggering 99.18% of the vote, giving him another five years in office.

Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where many were dressed in the green, yellow and blue colours of the Rwandan national flag.

The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for the iron-fisted Mr. Paul Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since the 1994 genocide, as de facto leader and then president.

Rights activists said the 66-year-old’s overwhelming victory was a stark reminder of the oppressive regime in Rwanda, with only two candidates authorised to run against him and several prominent critics barred.

Kigali is also accused of stoking instability in the mineral-rich east of the DRC, its much larger neighbour, by backing M23 rebels fighting Kinshasa’s armed forces.

“Peace in our region is a priority for Rwanda yet it has been lacking, particularly in eastern DRC,” Mr. Kagame said in his inauguration address.

“But peace cannot be delivered by anyone or from anywhere no matter how powerful if the party most concerned does not do what is needed,” he said in an apparent barb targeting Kinshasa.

“Angola’s President Joao Lourenco, among those who attended Sunday’s ceremony, was due to have private talks with Mr. Kagame on a DRC ceasefire deal hammered out last month,” the Angolan presidency said.

Luanda (Angola’s capital) brokered the agreement after a meeting between the foreign ministers of DRC and Rwanda.

But on August 4, the day the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, M23 rebels – who have seized territory in the east since launching a new offensive at the end of 2021 – captured a town on the border with Uganda.

A recent U.N. experts report said 3,000-4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting alongside M23 and that Kigali had “de facto control” of the group’s operations.

Questioned repeatedly on the issue, Mr. Kagame has not explicitly denied the presence of Rwandan forces in DRC, instead pointing to the “persecution” of the Tutsi minority and the risk of instability on Rwanda’s border.

– ‘Climate of fear’ –

Mr. Kagame is credited with rebuilding a ruined nation after the genocide, when Hutu extremists unleashed 100 days of vicious bloodletting targeting the Tutsi minority, killing around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.

But rights activists and opponents say he rules in a climate of fear, crushing any dissent with intimidation, arbitrary detentions, killings and enforced disappearances. With 65% of the population under 30, Mr. Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.

“I proudly cast my vote for President Kagame and made it a priority to be here today to witness this historic inauguration,” said Tania Iriza, a 27-year-old trader, one of the tens of thousands who turned out for the ceremony. “His leadership has been transformative for our nation. Under his leadership, Rwanda has risen from our tragic past and forged a path towards prosperity, unity and innovation.”

Mr. Kagame has won every presidential election he has contested, each time with more than 93% of the ballot.

In 2015, he oversaw controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms to five years from seven but reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.