By : Lloyd Mahachi

As the East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma moved deeper on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to liberate occupied territory.

While saying he favors a peaceful resolution, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi told the nation on Wednesday night that he would mount a military counter-aggression and warned: “The presence of thousands of Rwandan soldiers on our soil is leading to an escalation with unpredictable problems.”

The eight countries of the East African Community held an emergency summit and called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Congo and for Congo to negotiate with M23. The United Nations Security Council similarly demanded a stop to the rebels earlier this week.

Congo and Rwanda are both members of the East Africa bloc along with Kenya, Tanzania, and other states. Tshisekedi did not attend the summit while Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame did.

M23 rebels seized Goma, a city of 2 million people and the capital of North Kivu province, on Monday. Rwandan forces backed up M23 in Goma, according to Congo, the U.N., the U.S., and other Western powers. Rwanda has denied the claims.

The rebels moved south on Wednesday in an apparent attempt to expand their area of control. They moved along the western side of Lake Kivu and neared Kavumu, where Bukavu’s airport is located.

This week’s events represent the escalation of the decades-old conflict in eastern Congo since 2012. The hostilities are rooted in the spillover of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide into Congo and the struggle for control of Congo’s lucrative minerals.

Editor : Josephine Mahachi