Kinshasa: The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed alarm over the resumption of hostilities by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as a key regional city is under threat.
Guterres condemned the renewed offensive launched by the M23 at the beginning of the year and its expansion into the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, including the recent seizure of Sake, which increased the threat to Goma, North Kivu’s capital and an important and populated city, read a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.
Sake, a city about 20 kilometres from Goma, is considered Goma’s last barrier. The M23 took Goma in late 2012.
As the offensive took a devastating toll on the civilian population and heightened the risk of a broader regional war, the Secretary-General called on the M23 to immediately cease its offensive, withdraw from all occupied areas and abide by the ceasefire agreement that went into effect last August.
The M23 is a group of former rebels from the National Congress for the Defence of the People. Its name comes from the March 23, 2009, agreement it signed with the DRC government, Xinhua news agency reported.
In December 2013, the M23 signed a peace accord with the government, in which it agreed to demobilize its fighters and transform itself into a political party. M23 leaders, however, have accused the government of failing to respect that agreement and resurfaced in late 2021.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), about 237,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of 2025 in the eastern DRC, one of the world’s largest hosts of people uprooted within their own borders,
Escalating clashes between armed groups and the DRC army in North and South Kivu provinces, already home to 4.6 million internally displaced people, are intensifying one of the world’s most alarming yet under-reported humanitarian crises, said UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun, last week.
From January 1 to 6, intense fighting in the Masisi and Lubero territories of North Kivu Province forced about 150,000 individuals to flee their homes, while 84,000 people have been displaced in South Kivu’s Fizi territory, the UN agency said, noting that civilians in both regions are enduring indiscriminate bombings.
Last month, a peace summit to address conflicts in the DRC was called off at the last minute due to a tough negotiation standoff.
(IANS)
