The M23 rebels of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) won two more towns on Friday, arriving at the airport in the capital of the Bukabu province, raising fears of humanitarian disasters and civilian criminal abuse.
UNICEF, United Nations Children's Fund, I said On Thursday, gunmen in eastern Congo raped hundreds of women and children during the conquest of Goma rebels. It's fallen To the M23 unit supported by Rwanda two weeks ago.
According to UNICEF Executive Director Katherine Russell, the number of rape cases treated at hospitals across Gama rose by about 500% in the last week of January when rebels violated the city.
A spokesman for M23 claimed there was a pause in the campaign to allow humanitarian aid to reach the city, but Bukabu appeared to be the target of the next rebel after Goma was captured. . The pause was very short as the M23 was pushed south from Goma and the battle was reported immediately near Bukabu.
Rebels It was seized The towns of Katana and Kalehe on Friday. Katana is a commercial hub about seven miles from another strategic town called Kavum, which includes the Bukabu airport. Katana residents uploaded a video of the rebel soldiers who were quickly pushed into Kabum. There, the airport was quickly closed and many of its equipment was removed.
The M23 leader on Friday said the Congolese Army (FARDC) had abandoned Kavmu ahead of the rebel advance.
“As we have repeatedly emphasized, we have eliminated the threat of the source. Kavmu Airport poses a risk to the liberated regions and civilians in our position,” M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka I said On Friday, he portrayed the rebel militia as a “liberating” force and the FARDC as a “oppressor.”
“From now on, Kabum and its surrounding area, including the airport, will be under the control of AFC/M23,” declared Cannuca.
It appears that more and more FARDC forces have retreated to the Kinshasa capital. Some of the unverified clips posted on social media appeared to indicate that the government was in exile and taking part in congratulatory congratulatory M23 conquerors.
Tshisekedi was in Germany on Friday and attended a security conference in Munich, where he met with International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan, complaining about Rwanda's support for the M23 attack.
Tshisekedi Blast Rwanda accused DRC neighbors of having “expandist ambitions” to seize mineral-rich eastern Congo in their speech to the Security Council.
“We no longer tolerate the looting of strategic resources that are being plundered for foreign interests for foreign interests,” Tshisekedi said, “We no longer tolerate looting strategic resources that are being plundered for foreign interests,” and unless the international community stops the M23, foreign countries are He said he is implicitly threatening to cut off a company's mineral lease. and Rwanda.
“We don't accept simple words,” said President DRC.
Tshisekedi is reportedly going to attend the African Union (AU) meeting on Saturday. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Head of the AU Committee; Requested A ceasefire in Congo on Friday.
“There is a general mobilization in Africa today on this issue. I hope we can impose this ceasefire,” Mahamat said.
Bruno Lemarquis, a UN humanitarian official in Congo; I warned On Friday, the humanitarian disaster looms at the forefront of the rebellion, heads towards the Qavum airport, which the UN has used to bring its personnel to South Kivu province.
Lemarquis said the state's situation was already tragic before the rebels due to other “community tensions,” “land-related tensions,” natural disasters such as landslides and the outbreak of cholera.
The battle also pushes away the epicenter of the massive Monkeypox (MPOX) Outbreak. The more dangerous Clade-1B variant of MPOX is particularly common in Kalehe, one of the towns captured by rebels.
Lemarquis said about 20% of the South Kivu population have been expelled from their homes, including the latest clash between the M23 and the FARDC that evacuated at least 170,000 people.
Congo's UN peacekeeping mission, Monasco, I said More than 870 civilians were killed in a late-night attack on a group of villages in eastern Congo on Thursday by another rebel, Cordeco.
According to Monusco, many civilians were killed with weapons with blades rather than firearms, so UN peacekeepers were not aware of the attack immediately. By the time the peacekeepers arrived, the rebels were “unfortunately already killing more than 80 civilians, burning homes, and spreading panic among the population.”
Kodeko was a loosely organized militia, painted primarily from the Lendu tribe, with the civilians massacred on Thursday from rival tribes called djaiba. The day before the village massacre, Kodeko It is reportedly They attacked the refugee camp.
