Panic spread in Goma on Thursday, with M23 rebels steadily closing in on the city in eastern Congo as they battle the Congolese army. Bombs could be heard going off in the far outskirts, and hundreds of wounded civilians were brought to the main hospital from nearby towns and villages.

The rebel group has made significant progress in recent weeks, closing in on Goma, home to around two million people and a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have fought for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises.

More than seven million people were displaced by the fighting. Earlier this month, M23 captured the towns of Minova, Katale and Masisi, west of Gomo.

“The people of Goma have suffered greatly, as have other Congolese,” M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka told X. “M23 is on its way to liberate them and they must prepare to welcome this liberation.”

M23 seized Goma in 2012 and controlled it for more than a week.

As news of the fight spread, schools in Goma sent students home on Thursday morning.

“We were told that the enemy wanted to enter the city. That’s why we were told to go home,” said Hassan Kambale, a 19-year-old high school student. “We keep waiting for bombs.”

Rwanda accused of supporting rebels

Congo, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army decades ago.

Rwanda’s government denies the allegation, but last year it admitted it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to protect its security, pointing to a build-up of Congolese forces near the border. UN experts estimate that there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.

On Wednesday, Congolese Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told French broadcaster France 24 that war with Rwanda was “an option to consider”.

Congolese authorities claimed on Thursday that the army had instigated the attack from the “Rwandan army” in Sake, a town just 23 kilometers from Gomo. The Associated Press could not verify whether the Rwandan military was involved in the offensive.

The situation in Sake remains unclear, with some residents claiming that rebels have entered and seized the town.

“The population is panicking. The M23 now controls large parts of the city,” said Leopold Mwisha, president of the area’s civil society.

The US embassy in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, warned in a statement on Thursday of “an increase in the severity of the armed conflict in the vicinity” and advised US citizens in North Kivu province, which includes Goma, to be on alert in case they need to leave their homes at short notice. deadline.

The UK also issued a travel advisory saying the M23 was now under control and urged British nationals to leave Goma while roads remained open.

The hospital stretched to limit itself

Many residents have joined more than 178,000 people who have fled the M23 in the past two weeks.

The CBCA Ndosho Hospital in Goma was stretched to the limit, and on Thursday hundreds of new ones were created.

Thousands fled the fighting on Wednesday by boat, passing north across Lake Kivu and spilling out of crowded wooden boats in Goma, some with bundles of their belongings tied around their foreheads.

Neema Matondo said she escaped from the sake during the night, when the first explosions started to go off. She recounted that she saw people around her pieces and killed.

“We escaped, but unfortunately,” the others did not, Matondo said.

Mariam Nasibu, who escaped with her three children, was in tears – one of her children had lost a leg, blown off in the relentless shelling.

“As I continued to run, the second bomb fell in front of me, hitting my child,” she said, crying.