Goma didn’t completely fall to M23 rebels: DR Congo

KIGALI, Rwanda / ISTANBUL / DOUALA, Cameroun

• M23 rebels fighting Congolese government forces claim taking over Goma city which borders Rwanda
• Army in Kigali says more than 120 Congolese soldiers surrendered into Rwanda and disarmed
• Kigali also claims death of at least 5 people due to alleged cross-border firing

The eastern city of Goma "did not completely fall" to M23 rebels, the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Monday.

"The situation (in Goma) is urgent to protect human lives," government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said during a TV show in the capital Kinshasa.

Early Monday, M23 rebels, who are allegedly backed by Kigali, claimed they took over Goma while Kinshasa had claimed the presence of Rwandan forces in the city.

However, later during the TV show, Muyaya said the government was "working to prevent any carnage."

Muyaya said the government forces had also retaken control of national television, which was earlier Monday taken over by the rebels.

Several people were killed as Congolese M23 rebels "seized" Goma city, the provincial capital of eastern North Kivu province, on Monday following days of intense fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has displaced thousands of civilians, according to earlier reports.

5 killed in Rwanda, claims Kigali

Officials in Rwanda claimed that five of its citizens were also killed in cross-border fire from Congo.

A Congolese cleric in Goma city, Fepaco Nzambe Malamu, said some residents were hit by stray bullets that fell into their homes.

There was yet no official comment on the number of casualties.

Local news portal Media Congo said bombs dropped in several neighborhoods and camps of internally displaced people in Goma, causing many casualties.

Muhindo Nzangi, an elected national legislator for the capital of the province of North Kivu, also stated that Goma city was in the middle of a war.

He claimed the bombs that are causing damage in the city are being fired from Rwanda. "Even children are (affected). All the soldiers who entered the city came through the Rwandan border," he told Top Congo Radio.

Rwanda Defense Force spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronald Rwivanga said that several bombs were fired into Rwanda’s border district of Rubavu by the Congolese army, killing five and injuring 35 other citizens.

At least 13 peacekeepers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional force and the UN mission in Congo (MONUSCO) were killed since the renewed offensive by M23 rebels last week.

Congo and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of backing the group. Rwanda, however, denies the allegations.

M23 says it is defending the interests of minority Congolese Tutsis, who say they are discriminated against for their ethnic links to Rwanda’s Tutsi community.

The Rwandan army said Monday more than 120 Congolese soldiers have so far surrendered into Rwanda and disarmed following the fall of Goma to M23 rebels.

Earlier footage posted by Rwanda Broadcasting Agency on X showed troops, some in army uniform, handing over arms to Rwandan security officers after crossing into the eastern neighboring country at the main border crossing in Rwanda's Rubavu district.

Internet watchdog Net blocs said Monday metrics show an ongoing disruption to connectivity at the Goma internet exchange.

"The incident comes amidst a major military escalation with neighboring Rwanda as authorities present measures to ‘counter Rwandan propaganda’," it said.

*Additional reporting by Hassan Isilow in Johannesburg