M23 Rebels Demand Surrender from Goma Government Forces Amid Escalating Conflict

Rwandan-backed rebels laying siege to the eastern Congo's largest city, Goma, have ordered government forces to disarm and surrender, indicating their intent to enter and take control.

The M23 rebels have made rapid advances in January in the Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich, conflict-ridden eastern borderlands, launching an assault on Goma earlier this week.

By Sunday evening, M23 fighters had moved past Munigi, an outlying neighbourhood approximately nine kilometres from the city centre, according to three sources.

The escalating conflict is deepening one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and raising fears of a broader regional war.

Willy Ngoma, a spokesperson for M23, informed Reuters that the rebels plan to seize Goma at 3am local time (noon AEDT) on Monday.

“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 (UN mission) MONUSCO," Ngoma stated.

He added that surrendering government soldiers should assemble at one of the city's stadiums ahead of the deadline. A second rebel spokesman announced on social media platform X that all boat traffic on Lake Kivu was suspended.

City residents reported hearing sporadic gunfire in various areas after dark, but it remained unclear who was firing or whether fighting continued.

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

With the rebels seemingly prepared to seize Goma, the United Nations Security Council convened earlier on Sunday to discuss the crisis, during which three UN peacekeepers—a Uruguayan and two South Africans—were reported killed in the previous two days.

Addressing the council via video link, the head of the UN mission in Congo, Bintou Keita, highlighted that M23 and supporting Rwandan forces had breached the outer edges of the city.

“Roads are blocked and the airport can no longer be used for evacuation or humanitarian efforts. M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed,” she indicated.

“In other words, we are trapped.”

The United States, France, and Britain have condemned what they describe as Rwanda's support for the rebel advances, despite Kigali's longstanding denial of involvement.

Rwanda’s UN ambassador, Ernest Rwamucyo, stated that while the country regretted the deteriorating situation in eastern Congo, it blamed Kinshasa for the crisis.

“The current crisis could have been averted had (Congo's) government demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace,” he added.

The eastern borderlands of Congo, a nation approximately the size of western Europe, remain a volatile mix of rebel zones and militia strongholds following two successive regional wars originating from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.