The embattled Congolese city of Goma has been hit by heavy artillery fire, as France issued a warning that the regional capital was on the verge of being overrun by militia fighters and Rwandan troops.
The M23 armed group and Rwandan soldiers entered Goma’s centre on Sunday night after weeks of advancing on the main city in DR Congo’s mineral-rich North Kivu province.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the Rwanda-backed offensive “must stop”, expressing his country’s solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo “as Goma prepares to fall”.
With international pressure mounting for an end to the battle for Goma, Kenya announced on Sunday that Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame had agreed to attend a summit in the next two days.
M23 fighters and 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers had been laying siege to Goma for several days, according to the United Nations and security sources.
The Congolese armed forces appear to have been overwhelmed by the offensive, and Uruguay’s army said in a statement that some units had begun to surrender by handing over their weapons to UN peacekeepers in Goma.
Large explosions and gunfire were heard in central Goma on Monday morning. As chaos descended on the city, there was a mass prison break from a torched prison which resulted in “deaths”, a security source told newsmen, without giving further details.
The border between Rwanda and DRC near the Goma was also closed on Monday, a European consulate source and an aid worker at the crossing said.
Rwandan state media had earlier said buses were ready to evacuate UN staff and their families from Goma over the border.
