UN: After taking Goma, M23 rebels head to Congo's Bukavu

UNITED NATIONS — 

The United Nations' peacekeeping main said Friday that M23 rebels are advancing southbound toward the provincial superior of Bukavu aft seizing power of Goma successful the mineral-rich eastbound Congo earlier this week.

"The accusation I person is that M23/RDF are astir 60 kilometers northbound of Bukavu. They look to beryllium moving rather fast," Jean Pierre Lacroix told reporters of the rebels who are backed by the Rwandan Defense Forces. "There is an airdrome successful the vicinity of wherever they are, I deliberation a fewer kilometers south, which is Kavumu."

He said if they win successful taking implicit the airdrome arsenic they did successful Goma, it would beryllium different "significant step."

Congolese subject bases successful Bukavu were being emptied connected Thursday to reenforce positions on the way to the provincial capital, residents told The Associated Press. Reuters reports that officials successful Bukavu person besides been recruiting civilians to assistance support the city.

Rwanda did not instantly respond to a Reuters petition for remark connected the latest subject movements.

Rebels instrumentality implicit schools, hospitals

Earlier this month, M23 rebels broke a ceasefire agreement, launching a large-scale violative successful on the eastbound borderline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the enactment of the Rwandan army. Rwanda has denied accusations that it supports the rebels, whom the Congolese authorities has designated arsenic a violent group.

Until June, the United Nations had peacekeepers deployed successful Bukavu, the superior of South Kivu province. The U.N. made an statement with the authorities to gradually statesman drafting down its mission, known arsenic MONUSCO, and closed its Bukavu office.

In areas nether M23 power successful South Kivu, including the cardinal trading municipality of Minova, the rebels person occupied schools and hospitals, expelled displaced persons from camps, and forced the section colonisation to combat for them and execute forced labor, the U.N. bureau of quality rights said Friday.

The U.N. peacekeeping chief, echoing the secretary-general and the Security Council, urged diplomatic engagement to halt the warring and pb to a governmental solution.

Goma inactive 'tense,' immoderate services restored

Meanwhile, successful the North Kivu provincial superior of Goma, which fell to the rebels earlier this week, the concern is "tense and volatile," Lacroix said, but calm is gradually being restored, on with immoderate basal services. U.N. peacekeepers person besides been capable to resupply immoderate of their positions, helium said. The airport, however, remains retired of committee aft sustaining dense harm to its runways.

The World Health Organization and the Congolese authorities assessed that 700 radical had been killed betwixt Sunday and Thursday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters. Another 2,800 wounded are receiving attraction successful wellness facilities.

"These numbers are expected to emergence arsenic much accusation becomes available," Dujarric said.

The International Organization for Migration said 300,000 radical had been sheltering successful displacement sites, including connected the outskirts of Goma. Those sites are present mostly bare arsenic radical fled the fighting. The bureau says the displaced urgently request food, shelter, cleanable water, aesculapian attraction and protection.

Before the latest circular of violence, eastbound Congo was mired successful 1 of the largest and astir protracted humanitarian crises successful the world, with astir 6.5 cardinal radical displaced owed to efforts by equipped groups to prehend power of the country's invaluable mineral deposits.