The United Nations describes the “collective panic” in Goma with the control of the Rwanda -backed rebels against a major city in the Congo

Rwandan -backed rebels announced that they had seized Juma, the largest city in the eastern Congo, early on Monday, while the United Nations described “collective panic” among its two million populations, and the Congo government said that the rebels were “a declaration of war.”

The M23 rebels announced control of the city in a statement minutes before the deadline set by the group of the Congolese army for 48 hours to deliver its weapons.

The rebels urged in a statement of Juma’s residents to commit calm and urged members of the Congolese army to gather in the central stadium.

The M -23 rebel attack at the heart of the mineral rich area threatens to exacerbate one of the longest wars in Africa and increase civilian displacement. According to a United Nations report, more than a third of the population of the North Kivu province, where Goma is currently displaced, is likely to seize Goma to exacerbate the situation.

Late on Sunday night, the United Nations peacekeepers began treating army personnel who began to surrender to the outskirts of the city.

Congolese government spokesman Patrick Moyaya made a statement in a video posted on the X site calling for the protection of civilians and says that the country “is in war where the news changes.”

Late Sunday, the United Nations Special Representative of the Congo said in an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that with the closure of the airport and the closure of roads in the vast humanitarian and security center in the region, “We are trapped.”

On Saturday evening, the Congo seized its relations with Rwanda, which denied its support for the M23, despite the evidence gathered by the United Nations experts and others. The escalation of violence led to the killing of at least 13 peacekeepers during the past week. The Congolese was fleeing again.

M23 has made great regional gains along the Congo border with Rwanda in recent weeks, months after regional attempts to achieve peace. On Sunday night, the rebels called on the Congo army to hand over their weapons and go to a local stadium by three in the morning local time, or they will control the city.

The Uruguay army, located in Juma within the United Nations peacekeeping mission, said in a statement released late Sunday that some Congolese soldiers threw their weapons.

The statement said that “more than a hundred soldiers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo must take shelter in the Simber Princette base facilities awaiting the process (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration),” the statement said.

In the photos that were shared with the statement, armed men were seen recorded by the peacekeeping forces wearing a mixture of military uniforms and civil clothing.

The United Nations Special Representative, Pinto Keita, told the Security Council that, despite the support of the United Nations peacekeeping forces of the Congolese armed forces, the M2 and Rwandan forces entered the Monigi neighborhood on the outskirts of Goma, “which caused a state of collective panic.” Munigi is nine kilometers from the city.

Kita said that the March 23 movement fighters are advancing and using the population as “human shields” while others fled to survive their lives.

“The March 23 Movement announced the closure of the airspace over Guma,” she added. “In other words, we are trapped.” She said that the United Nations is temporarily transporting non -basic employees from the city.

Congo Foreign Minister The Teres Kaikamba Wagner told the Security Council that Rwanda is committing “direct aggression and a declaration of war that is no longer hiding behind diplomatic maneuvers.”

The UN Ambassador to the United Nations has not confirmed Ernest Roamusio or denies the allegations of the Congo. He blamed the Congo government, saying that it would have been possible to avoid the crisis if it “showed a real commitment to peace.”

The United States and France called for a ceasefire and appealed to Rwanda withdrew its support for the March 23 movement, and the Chargé d’Affairs of the American Ambassador Dorothy Chia warned that the United States “will study all the tools available to it” to hold accountable those responsible for the continued armed conflict. .

A spokesman for the United Nations Secretary -General Antonio Guterres said before the Security Council meeting that during the past 48 hours, two United Nations peacekeeping forces were killed from South Africa and one of Uruguay and 11 others were wounded and were transferred to the hospital.

The spokesman Stephen Dujarric said that the United Nations Secretary -General repeated his “strong condemnation” of the M23 attack with the support of the Rwandan Defense Forces, “and called on the rebel group to immediately end all hostilities and withdrawal.

The Congo, the United States and the United Nations experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the March 23 movement, which consists mainly of the Tutsi ethnicity who separated from the Congolese army more than a decade ago. It is one of about 100 armed groups competing for a foothold in the mineral -rich area, where the long -term conflict created one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world.

The Rwanda government denies the support of the rebels, but last year it admitted that it has forces and missile regimes in the eastern Congo to protect its security, noting a crowd of the Congolese forces near the border. UN experts estimate that up to 4000 Rwandan soldiers are in the Congo.