- Tension Escalate in DRC As M23Move Closer to Bukavu
- Rebels Already Taken Over of Goma and Advancing
- Congolese Army Put up Defense to Stop the Rwanda Backed M23 Rebels
Fierce fighting is happening as M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, move closer to Bukavu, the second-largest city in eastern DR Congo. This has made the conflict worse in the region.
The rebels have already taken control of Goma, the biggest city in the area, and are now heading south towards Bukavu. The Congolese army has set up defenses along the road between the two cities to stop them.
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Earlier this week, M23 fighters said they would not stop until they reached Kinshasa, the country’s capital, which is 2,600km (1,600 miles) away.
Many local people, including young men, have volunteered to help defend Bukavu. One of them told reporters, “I am ready to die for my country.”
The United Nations says at least 700 people have died and more than 2,800 have been injured since Sunday. The number of deaths may go up.
South Kivu’s governor, Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, said the Congolese army and their allies are still fighting hard to stop the rebels. However, the BBC has not confirmed this information.
The DR Congo’s foreign minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, accused Rwanda of illegally occupying the country and trying to change its government. She said the world has allowed Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, to break international laws without punishment for many years.
Rwanda denied these accusations. Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said Rwandan troops are only there to prevent the war from spreading into their country. She added, “We do not want war, we do not want to take land, and we do not want to change the government.”
On Friday, leaders from 16 southern African countries met in Zimbabwe to discuss the crisis. Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who leads the group, said keeping peace in the region is everyone’s responsibility.
The group, known as SADC, has sent soldiers, mostly from South Africa, to help stop armed groups like M23 and bring peace to the region. However, in the past week, 16 soldiers from these countries have died in fighting near Goma.
Rwanda’s President Kagame argued with South Africa’s leader on social media. He said the SADC troops were not real peacekeepers and should not be involved in the conflict.
The fighting has made life very difficult for people in eastern DR Congo. The M23 rebels have taken large areas of North Kivu province, near Goma.
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Shelley Thakral, from the UN’s World Food Programme, said people in Goma do not have enough food, clean water, or medicine. She explained that because roads and airports are blocked, supplies cannot reach the city.
Since the start of 2025, more than 400,000 people have had to flee their homes because of the war.
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