Goma citizens say you can smell the dead bodies on the streets (Image: Getty)
“There are places that smell of corposes, the dirt of abandonned military uniforms and you can see the ruins of abandonned houses and looted shops,” Ahadi Kyambikwa, a tailor from Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, tells .
In January, Rwandan-backed broke a ceasfire agreement launching which has since seen nearly 3,000 people killed.
The remaining citizens are left fearing for their lives wondering whether they are going to live to see the next day. “We aren’t safe, we are being kept hostage because we are not free to make any decisions,” says Ahadi aged 25.
Ahadi says that he has been struggling to contact his family as finding both internet and phone connection has been extremely challenging.
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“I’m really worried about my family because I struggle to reach them,” he added.
The tailor has multiple family members living in the city but also siblings who live in Bukavu, South Kivu, where the M23 and Rwandan forces are said to be heading to.
His brother, Franck Kyambikwa, 37, was already anxious about the crisis that has been preventing him from hearing from their family but now as the rebels draw closer to his city he is faced with another concern.
“I am worried because my wife recently had a caesarean section, our baby is only a couple of weeks old and my wife is still recovering. We also have a three-year-old daughter, if conflict breaks out here, I don’t know what I’ll do,” says Franck.
With fear looming over the regions, there’s not much any of the locals can do. “We are under general panic, we restrict our movements to not be suprised with any lost bullets,” adds the father of two.
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Nearly 3000 people have reportedly been killed since the end of January (Image: Getty)
“All week, those who can afford to stock up have been in front of supermarkets, only for us to notice that they have barricaded the windows with steel to avoid looting,” explains Franck. It was also said that looting took place at the World Food Programme’s depot.
Reflecting on the past, Franck told us: “Life before the M23 used to be a little stable despite other disorders, however, we, the citizens need peace to get on with our activites. The presence of rebellion paralyses everything and we don’t feel reassured that things will be sorted out amongst the presence of the rebels. We can only hope that peace returns so we can do our activties properly.”
Shortly after, he informed the Express that the rebels had taken control of Kavumu airport, which serves the city of Bukavu.
Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Image: Getty)
While the recent attacks have taken a global interest, the conflict which overshadows eastern dates back decades and since 1996, over six million lives have been taken.
Congo gained independance from in 1960, however went through postcolonial battles for power which resulted in the assassination of admired leader Patrice Lumumba and the military rule under dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
In the late 1990s, The First Congo War broke out, following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide which saw ethnic Hutus kill thousands of people from the Tutsi community and then flee over to neighbouring countries, including Congo.
Amongst those who fled over to Congo there were Hutu extremists who organised militias within the country. Congo-based Tutsi forces with the backing of as well as Rwanda troops under the leadership of President Paul Kagame then launched an invasion of Congo, which was then known as Zaire.
The battles resulted in many Congolese citizens in North and South Kivu dead, and the overthrow of President Mobutu who was replaced by rebel leader Laurent-Desire Kabila – an ally of Rwanda and Uganda.
Rebel groups have taken over the city (Image: Getty)
In 1998, just over a year after the first war, another one broke out when President Laurent-Desire Kabila turned against his former allies and it has been estimated that it resulted in 5.4 million deaths.
The M23 rebel group was formed in 2012, the same year it took over Goma. A United Nations report found that Rwanda is behind the military group and the UN Security Council encouraged sanctions against the M23 leaders as well as implicated Rwandan officials.
Today, M23 occupys a number of major towns in mineral rich region of North Kivu. The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to a number of the world’s largest reserves of rare minerals and metals including cobalt, coltan, copper and zinc – which has acted as drive for rebel groups to cause chaos in the country.