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International peacekeepers killed as combat fuses around the key city of Eastern Congo – public radio in South Carolina

International peacekeepers killed as combat fuses around the key city of Eastern Congo – public radio in South Carolina

Goma, Congo – beating with the M23 rebels in the East Congo has left at least 13 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers killed, staff of the United Nations and the army said on Saturday.

The M23 has achieved significant territorial profits in recent weeks, surrounding the eastern city of Goma, which has about 2 million people and is the Regional Center for Security and Humanitarian Efforts.

The UN Security Council was held an emergency meeting on escalating violence until Sunday morning (10 am EST). Congo requested the meeting, which was originally scheduled for Monday.

On Saturday, Congo’s army said it had abandoned the M23 offensive to Goma with the help of its allied forces, including the UN troops and soldiers from the South Africa Community mission, also known as Samidk.

“The Rwanda M23 obviously uses the US presidential transition to progress in Goma-exposing thousands of more civilians at risk,” said Kate Hickson, director of advocacy in Africa at Amnesty International, before the Associated Press.

The Congo, the United States and the UN experts blame Rwanda in support of the M23, which consists mainly of ethnic tuts, which broke away from the Congoan army more than a decade ago.

The Rwanda government denied the claim, but last year he acknowledged that he had troops and missile systems in the Eastern Congo to protect his security, pointing to the accumulation of Congoy forces near the border. UN experts believe that there are up to 4,000 Rwanda forces in Congo.

The burning remains of a white armored combat vehicle carrying the UN markings can be seen on the road between Goma and Sake on Saturday, where most of the fights have been concentrated in recent days.

UN armored carrier staff burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Saturday, January 25, 2025.

UN armored carrier staff burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Saturday, January 25, 2025.

Two South African peacekeepers were killed on Friday while the Uruguayan Son Schlem was killed on Saturday, UN official told the Associated Press. The employee speaks on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

In addition, three peacekeepers in Malawi were killed in the East Congo, the United Nations organization in Malawi said on Saturday.

Seven Samidrc South African soldiers have also been killed during M23 clashes in the last two days, a South Africa Ministry said.

The military military in Uruguay in a statement issued on Saturday, identified his member killed in Congo as Rodolfo Alvarez, who was part of the Uruguay IV battalion. According to the statement, the department is working “to constantly comply with the mandate of the United Nations organization, as well as to guarantee the evacuation of insignificant civil and military officials from the city of Goma.”

“Various measures have been taken to improve the security of our troops, which work in adverse conditions,” the military said. He added that four Uruguayan peacekeepers were also injured. Three of them remained in Goma while the fourth was evacuated to Uganda for treatment.

Since 2021, the Congo Government and the Allied Forces, including SamidRC and the UN troops, have kept M23 away from Goma.

The UN peacekeeping forces, also known as a monk, entered the Congo more than two decades and have about 14,000 peacemakers on the spot.

South Africa Defense Minister Angie Motisekga visits the country’s troops located in Congo as part of the UN peacekeeping mission on the day the soldiers were killed.

Copyright 2025 NPR

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