Rwanda-backed rebels move deeper into eastern Congo as UN reports executions and rapes

Rwanda-backed rebels capture Goma, Congo, leading to humanitarian crisis, U.N. concerns, and regional peacekeeping efforts.

Rwanda-backed rebels were quickly expanding their presence in eastern Congo after capturing Goma, the region's major city, the U.N. said Friday, also expressing concerns over executions it learned were carried out by the rebels following a major escalation of their years-long rebellion.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the World Health Organization and its partners conducted an assessment with Congo’s government between Jan. 26-30 “and report that 700 people have been killed and 2,800 injured” in Goma and the vicinity.

“These numbers are expected to rise as more information becomes available,” he said.

The rebels were now about 60 km from South Kivu's provincial capital of Buakavu and “seem to be moving quite fast,” U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said at a press briefing on Friday. M23 has captured several towns after seizing neighboring Goma, a humanitarian hub critical for many of the 6 million people displaced by the conflict.

The central African nation’s military has been weakened after it lost hundreds of personnel and foreign mercenaries surrendered to the rebels after the fall of Goma.

Goma's capture has brought humanitarian operations to “a standstill, cutting off a vital lifeline for aid delivery across eastern (Congo)," said Rose Tchwenko, country director for Mercy Corps aid group in Congo. “The escalation of violence toward Bukavu raises fears of even greater displacement, while the breakdown of humanitarian access is leaving entire communities stranded without support."

The Southern African regional bloc, of which Congo is a member, resolved Friday to maintain its peacekeeping force deployed in eastern Congo in 2023. The group's chairman, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, called for “bold” and "decisive steps” to boost the force’s capacity. At their meeting in Zimbabwe's capital Harare, the 16-nation bloc also pledged to work towards a ceasefire.