{"id":42458,"date":"2025-01-31T18:50:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T23:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/at-least-700-killed-in-dr-congo-fighting-since-sunday\/31\/01\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T18:50:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T23:50:54","slug":"at-least-700-killed-in-dr-congo-fighting-since-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/at-least-700-killed-in-dr-congo-fighting-since-sunday\/31\/01\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 700 killed in DR Congo fighting since Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The UN says at least 700 people have been killed in intense fighting in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, since Sunday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">UN spokesman St\u00e9phane Dujarric said 2,800 people have been injured, as M23 rebels &#8211; backed by Rwanda &#8211; captured the capital of North Kivu province.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The rebels are now reported to be moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The conflict in eastern DR Congo dates back to the 1990s but has rapidly escalated in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">M23, which is made up of ethnic Tutsis, say they are fighting for minority rights, while DR Congo&#8217;s government says the Rwanda-backed rebels are seeking control of the eastern region&#8217;s vast mineral wealth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On Friday, Dujarric said the casualty figures came from an assessment made by the World Health Organization and its partners, alongside the DR Congo&#8217;s government, between Sunday and Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The UN spokesman also warned the death toll would rise further.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In an attempt to halt M23&#8217;s progress, the DR Congo military has set up a defensive line on the road between Goma and Bukavu, according to the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hundreds of civilian volunteers have been enlisted to defend Bukavu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">One young man told the AFP: &#8220;I am ready to die for my country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, the governor of South Kivu &#8211; the province M23 are marching on &#8211; told Reuters news agency the government army and its allies were holding back the rebels, though that claim has not been independently verified.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Earlier this week, M23 vowed to continue its offensive until it reached the capital Kinshasa, about 2,600km (1,600 miles) to the west.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-[4] size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>[BBC]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Kayikwamba Wagner, the country&#8217;s foreign minister, told the BBC that Rwanda was illegally occupying her country and attempting to orchestrate regime change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Wagner said the international community had allowed Rwandan President Paul Kagame decades of impunity and failed to hold him accountable for violating international law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Rwanda&#8217;s government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo denied the accusation, saying the country&#8217;s troops were only deployed to prevent the conflict spilling over to its territory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We&#8217;re not interested in war, we&#8217;re not interested in annexation, we&#8217;re not interested in regime change,&#8221; Makolo told the BBC&#8217;s Newsday programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">UN experts estimated last year that Rwanda had between 3,000 and 4,000 troops operating alongside the M23 in eastern DR Congo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On Friday, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) regional bloc declared its support for DR Congo at a crisis summit in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a statement, the 16-member group &#8220;reaffirmed its solidarity and unwavering commitment to continue supporting the DRC in its pursuit of safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sadc has sent peacekeeping troops, primarily from South Africa, to DR Congo to combat armed groups like the M23 and restore peace in the mineral-rich region after decades of unrest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sixteen soldiers from southern African countries have been killed in clashes with the M23 around Goma in the past week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The fighting has also worsened the humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shelley Thakral, from the UN&#8217;s World Food Programme, said the city&#8217;s residents were running out of food, clean water and medical supplies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The supply chain has really been strangled at the moment if you think about land access, air access, when everything is closed down,&#8221; she told AFP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Since the start of 2025, more than 400,000 people have been forced from their homes, according to the UN&#8217;s refugee agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">DR Congo is Africa&#8217;s second-largest country &#8211; about two-thirds the size of Western Europe &#8211; and borders nine different countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Previous conflicts in the country during the 1990s drew in several neighbours and were dubbed Africa&#8217;s World Wars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/least-700-killed-dr-congo-220802434.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UN says at least 700 people have been killed in intense fighting in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/at-least-700-killed-in-dr-congo-fighting-since-sunday\/31\/01\/2025\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}