By PORTIA CROWE, JOE BAVIER and BATE FELIX Reuters
Share this story

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Congolese rebels said on Sunday they had taken Goma, the biggest city in the east of the mineral-rich country, after a lightning advance that has forced thousands of people to flee and fueled concerns of a regional war.

“We have taken Goma and have ordered soldiers to surrender by 3:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT),” Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes the M23, told Reuters.

ADVERTISING


Reuters could not independently determine whether the city was fully under rebel control. Spokespeople for the Kinshasa government and the army did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have quickly gained ground this month in Democratic Republic of Congo’s conflict-riven eastern borderlands and launched an assault on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier this week.

By Sunday evening, M23 fighters had pushed past Munigi, an outlying neighborhood around 9 km (5 miles) from the city center, three sources told Reuters.

“Goma is in our hands,” Nangaa said.

The rebels had earlier ordered defending government forces late on Sunday to disarm and surrender, saying they were preparing to enter and take control.

Nangaa said that following negotiations, the rebels had allowed army officers to leave Goma by boat for Bukavu.

“We gave the (Congolese forces) a 48-hour ultimatum to lay down their arms. The ultimatum has already passed, so we say that they can deposit their military equipment at (U.N. mission) MONUSCO,” Willy Ngoma, a spokesman for M23, told Reuters.

He added that surrendering government soldiers were to assemble at one of the city’s stadiums ahead of the 3:00 a.m. deadline. A second rebel spokesman posted on X that all boat traffic on Lake Kivu was suspended.

City residents reported hearing scattered gunfire in different areas after nightfall, but it was unclear who was shooting or whether fighting was continuing.

Most of Goma, meanwhile, was plunged into darkness due to a power cut.