UN urges Rwandan troops to pull out of DRC as M23 rebels press offensive against Goma

The UN chief has urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as news has emerged that the Rwandan army has massed just across the border from the major city of Goma besieged by Kigali-backed M23 fighters.
Thousands of people have fled camps on the outskirts of Goma, as fighting intensifies between the rebels and Congolese troops. Intelligence sources suggest battle for the provincial capital of around 2 million people in eastern DRC is imminent after the M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks and is now closing in on the city. In a statement on Sunday (26 January), United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres has expressed “his strongest condemnation of the M23 armed group’s ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma in North Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces.” Experts warn that the fall of Goma would be a huge victory for the rebels, but disastrous for the local population.
It comes as large numbers of troops from Rwanda have reportedly been pouring across the border into the DRC to assist the lightning offensive by the M23 fighters aiming to seize the regional capital. Most of the Rwanda Defense Force’s (RDF) senior commanders are said to have been deployed in the Rwandan city of Gisenyi, located just across the border from Goma. South Africa, Malawi and Uruguay have meanwhile announced that their respective troops, who were part of either the UN peacekeeping force or the Southern African Development Community Mission (SAMIDRC), were killed as they battled to halt the advance of M23 fighters. In light of the escalating security situation in eastern DRC, Kinshasa announced on Sunday it had cut ties with Rwanda after recent attempts at diplomatic talks between the two countries failed.