UN warns of escalating situation in Congo

Rwandan-backed rebels gained ground in eastern Congo on Wednesday despite the unilateral ceasefire they declared earlier this week, taking control of a city 60 miles (96 kilometers) from the provincial capital of Bukavu, civil society officials and residents told the press.

Speaking from Goma, the U.N’s deputy head of its mission there said the situation remains highly volatile, with a persistent risk of escalation.

The M23 rebels on Monday announced the ceasefire on humanitarian grounds after pleas for the safe passage of aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

But Congo’s government has described the ceasefire as “false communication,” and the United Nations has noted reports of heavy fighting with Congolese forces in the mineral-rich region.

After seizing control of Goma, a provincial capital of 2 million people at the heart of a region home to trillions of dollars in mineral wealth, the rebels were reported to be gaining ground in other areas of eastern Congo and advancing on Bukavu.

The rebels on Monday said they did not intend to seize Bukavu or other areas, though they earlier expressed ambition to march on Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, a thousand miles away.

By Agencies