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In pictures: Defending Goma

The UN and Congolese army have deployed troops as M23 rebels advance towards the major city of Goma.

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The United Nations and Congolese army have deployed heavy defences on the outskirts of Goma.
By Phil Moore
Published On 6 Aug 2012

Over the past two weeks, the threat of an attack on Goma – the provincial capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive North Kivu province – by M23 rebels has loomed. The United Nations and the Congolese government army (FARDC) have deployed tanks and other heavy weaponry around the city in a coordinated effort to repel any possible attack.

A relative calm existed in the area as negotiations took place, with M23 and the FARDC consolidating positions. But on Tuesday, July 24, battles erupted again, reaching the town of Kibumba, just 25km from Goma and the stage of major UN and FARDC deployments.

Fighting continues, causing thousands to flee their homes once again. Since the conflict erupted in May, refugees have fled over the border to Rwanda and Uganda, with many thousands more displaced within eastern Congo. The latest wave of fighting has brought some 8,000 people towards Goma as their villages become the scene of shelling and heavy weapons fire.

M23 rebels, who draw many of their ranks from the Tutsi ethnic group, are allegedly backed by the Rwandan government, which is accused of fomenting unrest in the mineral-rich North Kivu province. The Rwandan government denies supporting the rebels. 

Current unrest in the DR Congo has roots in the ethnic and political wounds dating back to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Presently, M23  rebels deny a desire to march on Goma, but as fighting rages ever closer to the city, tensions are rising.

The UN has also deployed many peacekeepers within the city itself, largely to reassure the population.
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Coordination meetings between the UN brigade commander (left) and the FARDC military chief for North Kivu (right) strengthened the cooperation.
Around the town of Kibumba, just 25km from Goma, defensive positions by soldiers and tanks straddle the main road to the provincial capital.
Meanwhile, M23 rebels maintain their stronghold in the town of Bunagana on the Ugandan border.
The rebels are relatively few in number, and claim to be lightly armed, but have proved a formidable opposition to the army.
Their numbers are swelling with defections from the army, while Kinshasa has put out arrest warrants for the rebel commanders.
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Jean-Marie Runinga (waving), the political coordinator for M23, says they have no desire to take Goma, and denies Rwandan support.
But residents of the city are now used to seeing heavily armed peacekeepers patrolling their streets in the event of an advance.
The UN and FARDC have deployed attack helicopters against rebel positions, and have flown regular reconnaissance sorties over rebel-held territory.
Despite the rebels holding ground less than 50km from the city, daily life continues for Goma citizens, although with an increasingly uneasy air.
With heavy fighting erupting in the towns north of Goma, heavy deployments of FARDC troops have been called to action.
The full might of the UN and Congolese army is being used against the rebels.
Yet the rebels seem to be holding their consolidated positions and gaining ground towards Goma.
When M23 took the border town of Bunagana, thousands of Congolese fled across the border to the Nyakabande Transit Centre in Kisoro, Uganda.
And recent clashes around Kibumba have caused more than 8,000 people to flee south towards Goma, sheltering in schools in Kibati on the city(***)s outskirts.
Heavy fighting is taking place around Rugari and Rumangabo. Above, an FARDC tank retreats through Rugari following an M23 ambush.
A nervous air surrounds the attacks, with the question of an attack on Goma looming ever closer.