Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) closed on the strategic eastern city of Goma on Wednesday, sparking chaotic scenes as government forces and 45 000 refugees scrambled to leave.
”People are stampeding and the city is panicking,” Goma governor Julien Paluku said, adding that the local population had earlier been alarmed by an influx of about 20 000 refugees from fighting further north.
Combat between government forces and rebels loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda has escalated since the weekend, despite a plea from United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon for an end to the fighting.
An Agence France-Presse correspondent in the city said government forces had fled, and that UN tanks had been drawn into position around the peacekeeping force’s headquarters near the airport to the north of the city.
Combat tanks were returning from front lines north of Goma and were ”heading in the direction” of Bukavu, the capital of the neighbouring province of Sud-Kivu, he said.
”It’s over,” a military source said, adding that the FARDC government forces were repositioning at Minova, between Goma and Bukavu.
”Many people are fleeing Goma by boat towards Bukavu with their families. They are rushing here,” said a maritime official in Bukavu, like Goma a port city on the west bank of Lake Kivu.
The rebels said they expected to be able to take Goma, capital of Nord-Kivu province, as early as late Wednesday or early Thursday, a spokesperson for Nkunda said, bringing forward an earlier estimate of three days.
”The situation is changing very quickly. Civilians are fleeing to Gisenyi, and government forces are also leaving. It is possible we will be in control of that place tonight [Wednesday] or possibly tomorrow,” Amani Babu said, referring to Goma.
The claim raised fresh fears for about 30 000 displaced people at a camp at Kibati, about 10km to the north of Goma, capital of Nord-Kivu province.
The collapse of the government forces’ defence of Goma happened despite stepped-up intervention from Monuc, the UN’s largest peacekeeping mission.
Babu said earlier that UN helicopter gunships had stalled the rebel advance about 30km to the north of Goma, and forced them to take positions on higher ground near Kibumba.
The UN was the only force protecting another key administrative town, Rutshuru, about 100km north of Goma, after government forces fled the fighting there, the UN’s head of military operations, Colonel Samba Tall, said.
”The FARDC [DRC government army] abandoned their positions on Tuesday,” Tall said, adding that ”Monuc is protecting and will remain in protection of the population”.
A rebel spokesperson said on Tuesday his forces were only 4km from Rutshuru.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said the entire population of 45 000 people at the Kibati camp outside the city had fled.
”The whole camp was packing up and leaving” after refugees saw Congolese government troops themselves passing the camp in large numbers as they move south, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond said.
Earlier Redmond described the camp residents as ”exhausted and traumatised”.
The government in Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of actively supporting Nkunda. However, Rwanda said on Wednesday that the fighting was an internal DRC affair for which it bore no responsibility and rejected the idea of a summit on the issue.
The rebels were ”backed by Rwandan tanks which are pounding our positions from border hill positions”, said a Congolese government commander on condition of anonymity.
Rwanda said the DRC on Tuesday sent a delegation led by Foreign Minister Alexis Tambe Mwamba to discuss the conflict in the east of the country and to suggest a meeting between DRC President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame.
Speaking on a visit to the Philippines, Ban urged an immediate end to the violence.
”First and foremost, the fighting must be stopped,” Ban told reporters.
”And I am deeply concerned about the civilian casualties as well as increasing number of internally displaced persons.” — Sapa-AFP