Hundreds dead

Eastern Congo: Rebels announce ceasefire

(Bild: AFP)

The M23 militia, which captured the city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo a few days ago, intends to observe a ceasefire from Tuesday. "We are imposing a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, which will come into force on February 4, 2025," the group said in a statement. The rebels had fought heavy battles with the Congolese army for days, but ultimately defeated them. 

It initially remained unclear whether the military would also adhere to the ceasefire. In its statement, the militia condemned the military for using the airport near the city of Bukavu as a base for air strikes in the areas it had "liberated". The militia had no intention of taking Bukavu, it added. However, experts recently feared exactly that: an advance by the M23 fighters towards Kavumu airport and a capture of Bukavu, the important capital of the province of South Kivu.

UN: At least 900 bodies recovered in Goma
According to the United Nations, at least 900 bodies have been recovered in the streets of the city in eastern Congo following the recent fighting to capture Goma. The number collected up to and including Friday does not include the dead who have already been taken to morgues, according to the UN emergency aid office OCHA, citing the World Health Organization (WHO). Numerous bodies are still lying in the streets of Goma, it added. The local authorities in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo also counted almost 2,900 injured last week.

The M23, which according to experts is supported by neighboring Rwanda, already controls large parts of the eastern province of North Kivu, a region where some of the world's rarest and most valuable metals and ores are mined in large quantities, including coltan, gold, nickel, cobalt and copper.