Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba is in New York to present the request, at a time when the city of Goma, capital of the province of North Kivu, is under siege by rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) with the help of Rwanda.
“The Congolese government stresses this crisis in the east of the country is above all the result of the Council’s decisive inaction, despite the internationalization of the conflict and the clear evidence of the Rwandan presence on Congolese soil,” the Foreign Ministry said on social network X.
The situation is so complex that a crisis meeting chaired by the president, Félix Tshisekedi, took place the day before, and this Friday the humanitarian and security situation in the province of North Kivu will be discussed in the High Council of Defence.
According to Radio Okapi, the city of Goma woke up on Friday with a major interruption of the internet connection and a cut in the mobile phone connection, in addition to the fact that a large part of the city was also without water or electricity.
Although connectivity was restored, these circumstances add to tensions for the local population, which is frightened by the advance of the M23 and the fighting around the city.
Clashes between the Congolese army and rebels continue in the Kibumba axis, Nyiragongo territory, and in Sake, Masisi territory, with explosions of heavy and light weapons that have spread panic among the inhabitants of Goma.
Radio Okapi reports that in the Kibumba axis, the Congolese Armed Forces and their allies have so far managed to contain the rebel attacks far from Kanyamahoro; while in Sake, the rebels continue to control the city and the town of Mubambiro.
“Throughout the day, the Congolese army, local militias, the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the DRC (Monusco) and the contingent of the Southern African Development Community Mission contained the threat of the M23 advance towards Goma,” the media outlet stated.
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