Trouble in DRC clouds African Union summit in Ethiopia

CGTN Europe

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say they have entered the eastern city of Bukavu.   The M23 group – which the DRC says is backed by Rwanda - had previously given assurances that it had no plans to target the city.   It comes as the African Union summit takes place in Ethiopia. Siobhan McCall reports.  #drc #democraticpublicofcongo #congo #rwanda #africanunionsummit #ethiopia

Transcript

00:00Congolese soldiers retreat from Kavumu Airport as M23 fighters take control.

00:07It had been a strategic base for the army and just 30 kilometers from Bukavu, eastern DR Congo's second largest city.

00:18Last month, the biggest city, Goma, fell to the rebels.

00:22Around 2,000 people have been killed there.

00:25The offensive has been at lightning speed.

00:28Residents in Bukavu are anxious.

00:32I do not know where to run to.

00:34We'll go up the mountains to the villages.

00:36I see those who are securing us are running.

00:39How can I stay with my kids?

00:41The DRC's president, Felix Tsitsikedi, was in Germany for the Munich security conference

00:47but cut short the visit as the situation escalated.

00:51How can the integrity of a country be violated like this?

00:55People massacred without the country responsible being sanctioned.

00:58This raises the question of the United Nations, which for me has become a two-tier organization

01:04depending on whether you are among the most powerful or privileged countries

01:08or whether you are among the weak and disadvantaged.

01:13The conflict dates back to the 1990s and is fueled by ethnic tensions

01:18and a fight for control of the mineral-rich natural resources in the area.

01:24The M23 fighters are from the Tutsi ethnic group

01:28and have accused the DRC of not living up to a previous peace deal.

01:32Rwanda, meanwhile, has been accused of fueling the conflict by sending over its own troops.

01:38It denies this and says it is taking defensive measures.

01:43And as more people flee, there are growing concerns about the humanitarian impact

01:48in a country that has already got millions of people internally displaced.

01:53Heavy artillery shelling and looting have destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters

01:59around Goma and Minova in north and south Kivu provinces

02:03leaving some 350,000 internally displaced people once again without a roof over their heads.

02:11The capture of Bukavu would mark an unprecedented expansion of territory that is under M23 control

02:19and there is international concern that the fighting could spiral into a wider regional conflict.

02:26Siobhan McCall, CGTN.

Category

Transcript

Recommended