Rwanda-backed rebels move deeper into eastern Congo as UN reports executions and rapes
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GOMA, Congo (AP) — 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 yearslong rebellion.
The rebels and Rwandan were now 60 kilometers (37 miles) to 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 who surrendered to the rebels after the fall of Goma.
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