Following a tumultuous week of fighting, Rwanda-backed rebels have taken over Goma, plunging its two million residents into a life filled with uncertainty, desperation for food, and rampant injuries as local military forces abandon their posts.
Unraveling Chaos: Life After Goma's Capture by Rwandan-Backed Rebels
Unraveling Chaos: Life After Goma's Capture by Rwandan-Backed Rebels
Goma faces turmoil as Rwanda-supported rebels seize control, leaving the local population in dire straits.
Amid a week of fierce conflict, Goma, a city of two million in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has fallen under the control of rebels supported by Rwanda. The aftermath has been dire; hospitals are overflowing with casualties while the city’s morgue is filling at an alarming rate. Residents, emerging from hiding, find themselves in dire need of basic necessities like food and clean water. The Congolese military, which was expected to safeguard their welfare, has been overwhelmingly defeated.
In a chilling scene outside the largest stadium in Goma, members of the M23 militia, backed by Rwanda, loaded over 1,000 captured Congolese soldiers into trucks, their faces reflecting anguish and betrayal. Many soldiers wore their uniforms and vented frustration not at their captors but at Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, whom they blamed for their abandonment, and military commanders who fled, leaving their men without support.
Captured footage and images reveal the chaos as commanders along with officials reportedly escaped via boats under the cover of darkness while their troops remained behind to face the rebels. “Tshisekedi will pay for this,” shouted one soldier, while another vowed, “We’ll capture him with our own hands.”
The situation in Goma has quickly devolved into desperation, with civilians and soldiers alike left to contend with the aftermath of betrayal amidst a chilling power struggle that brings both fear and uncertainty to the forefront.
In a chilling scene outside the largest stadium in Goma, members of the M23 militia, backed by Rwanda, loaded over 1,000 captured Congolese soldiers into trucks, their faces reflecting anguish and betrayal. Many soldiers wore their uniforms and vented frustration not at their captors but at Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, whom they blamed for their abandonment, and military commanders who fled, leaving their men without support.
Captured footage and images reveal the chaos as commanders along with officials reportedly escaped via boats under the cover of darkness while their troops remained behind to face the rebels. “Tshisekedi will pay for this,” shouted one soldier, while another vowed, “We’ll capture him with our own hands.”
The situation in Goma has quickly devolved into desperation, with civilians and soldiers alike left to contend with the aftermath of betrayal amidst a chilling power struggle that brings both fear and uncertainty to the forefront.
