President Tshisekedi skips crisis EAC summit as M23 tightens grip on eastern DRC
President Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) skips virtual summit of the East African Community (EAC), a meeting called to address the ongoing crisis in his country
President Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) skips virtual summit of the East African Community (EAC), a meeting called to address the ongoing crisis in his country.
The Congolese and Rwandan presidents were scheduled to hold talks at an emergency East African summit on Wednesday as M23 rebels, backed by Kigali, tighten their grip on the strategic eastern city of Goma.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has decided not to attend a virtual crisis meeting with his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, scheduled for this Wednesday.
The meeting, organised by the East African Community and chaired by Kenyan President William Ruto, comes amid escalating tensions following the entry of Rwanda-backed fighters into the eastern DRC city of Goma.
The official Congolese Press Agency confirmed Tshisekedi’s absence earlier in the day, signaling a worsening diplomatic standoff between Kinshasa and Kigali.
Instead of attending the summit, President Tshisekedi is set to address the nation Wedensday evening, according to state broadcaster RTNC.
This will be his first public statement since the occupation of key areas in North Kivu province by the M23 rebel group, which Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting.
His speech is expected to outline the government’s stance on the crisis and possible measures to counter the rebel advance.
This comes as the M23 armed group seized Goma’s airport on Tuesday after days of heavy fighting that left more than 100 dead and nearly 1,000 wounded, based on a tally of hospital reports by the French news agency AFP.
It remains unclear how much of the city is controlled by Congolese forces versus M23, which claimed to have taken Goma on Sunday.
But as clashes eased overnight, reports said only M23 fighters and Rwandan forces were visible on the streets.
Reuters reported that sporadic gunfire could still be heard in some districts of Goma on Wednesday, despite M23 fighters consolidating their control over key locations.
Residents described looting and disruptions to basic services, including water and electricity.
A security source told AFP that “more than 1,200 Congolese soldiers have surrendered and are confined” to the UN’s DRC mission base at the airport.
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Medical facilities are struggling to cope with the influx of wounded. The International Committee of the Red Cross said some patients were “lying on the floor due to lack of space”.
The organisation also warned of “unimaginable consequences” if samples of Ebola and other pathogens stored at a Goma laboratory were released amid the fighting.
“Bombs were falling and killing other people everywhere, we saw dead bodies,” Destin Jamaica Kela, a 24-year-old who fled across the border to Rwanda, told AFP.
Humanitarian staff, their families and civilians flee Goma following fighting between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As the crisis escalated in Goma, anger erupted in Kinshasa, where protesters attacked several embassies, accusing foreign powers of failing to act.
The missions of France, Belgium, the United States, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa were targeted, with tyres set alight outside several buildings. Demonstrators also attacked the Rwandan embassy.
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