Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo — Chaos unfolded in the eastern Congolese city of Goma following a massive prison escape, compounded by the invasion of M23 rebels who have declared the “liberation” of the city. This siege has brought general unrest with rampant looting and prisoners seen freely roaming the streets.
Early reports indicated that Goma, a principal city in the North Kivu region bordering Rwanda, came under attack from the M23 group with the support of unidentified Rwandan forces. The city, which harbored approximately two million people prior to the crisis, including half a million displaced individuals, saw its security infrastructure critically compromised.
Witness accounts and local journalism sources describe the prison, a facility designed to house around 3,000 inmates, as having been completely destroyed by fire during the tumult, leading to an unknown number of casualties. This break-out occurred just hours after the rebels had entered the city.
Despite the chaos, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) government has maintained that it retains control over key strategic locations throughout Goma. According to an official statement, the DRC army still commands the Goma airport and other vital points in the region.
Yet, the M23 spokesman, in a bold assertion broadcasted via social media, claimed that the city had been successfully “liberated” and the situation was under control, urging calm among the city’s residents. The French foreign ministry later corroborated the rebel group’s control over Goma.
Since 2021, M23, a militia group known for its tenure in regions rich with minerals, has expanded its control in eastern DRC, an area abundant in resources like gold, cobalt, and tantalum. The ongoing instability has displaced over 400,000 people from both North and South Kivu provinces, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
The backdrop to this conflict involves accusations from the DRC and UN officials that Rwanda supports the M23 as a proxy to exploit the DRC’s mineral wealth. In response to these events, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Rwanda to “withdraw from the DRC” and halt any support to the M23 rebels. He also appealed for M23 to “immediately cease all hostilities and withdraw from all occupied territories.”
Rwanda, on the other hand, has historically justified its involvement in DRC, claiming that perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide had taken refuge there, collaborating with local forces, a point of contention further straining the relations between the two countries.
This complex geopolitical and humanitarian crisis continues to evolve, with major international concerns over the expansion of violence and the troubling specter of regional instability. The UN has considered retracting all non-essential personnel from the increasingly volatile Goma region as tensions escalate further.