75 Pakistanis moved to Rwanda amid escalation of Congo conflict: FO

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday that 75 Pakistanis have been moved to Rwanda amid the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

DR Congo’s president has vowed a “vigorous” military response against Rwandan-backed fighters who advanced further in the mineral-rich east of the country after seizing most of the region’s main city, where residents tentatively ventured out today.

The M23’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, is a dramatic escalation of a decade-long conflict that has seen it seize swathes of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is one of a string of armed groups in eastern DRC that has been plagued by internal and cross-border violence for the past three decades, partly traced back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In a press release issued today, the FO said around 150 Pakistanis were stranded in Goma following the conflict’s escalation.

“With the active engagement of Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Kigali Ambassador Naeemullah Khan, the Rwandan authorities have allowed the entry of stranded Pakistanis into Rwanda. So far, around 75 Pakistanis have moved to Rwanda.”

The FO added that the Pakistan High Commission in Kigali has arranged accommodation and food for those affected and is also reaching out to the Pakistani community to identify and gain access to any other citizens in difficulty.

“There is likelihood of more Pakistanis crossing over to Rwanda in the coming days. The high commission staff is in contact with every individual who has asked for assistance and help. Furthermore, the high commission is also reaching out to Pakistanis in the border city of Bukavu.”

It said any affected Pakistani requiring assistance could contact the high commission at (+92 333 5328517) on WhatsApp.

The violent uptick has sparked international concern, with regional blocs in Eastern and Southern Africa calling emergency summits, and the UN, United States, China and European Union urging an end to fighting.

DR Congo leader vows ‘vigorous’ response as Rwanda-backed fighters advance

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, in his first remarks since the latest crisis began, said in a late-night address a “vigorous and coordinated response against these terrorists and their sponsors is under way”.

He blasted the “silence and inaction” of the international community, calling it an “affront” in the face of an “unprecedented worsening of the security situation” that could lead “straight to an escalation” in the broader Great Lakes region.

Local sources told AFP late on Wednesday that Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province.

The Congolese army has yet to make a statement about the M23 advances.

After days of intense clashes that left more than 100 dead and nearly 1,000 wounded, according to an AFP tally, some residents ventured out today to take stock.

“We do not want to live under the thumb of these people,” one person, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot arrived in the capital Kinshasa and is due to meet Tshisekedi, according to Congolese government sources and a presidency source.

Tshisekedi boycotted crisis talks on Wednesday with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.

The move, alongside the DRC and Rwanda withdrawing their diplomats from each other’s capitals, did “not bode well for a negotiated end to the conflict”, said ACLED Senior Africa Analyst Ladd Serwat.

The regional East African Community bloc called for peace, urging the DRC to “directly engage with all stakeholders, including the M23”.

In a late-night post on X, Kagame warned South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that his country was “in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator”.

Thirteen South African soldiers have been killed in the past week in the DRC, part of a UN peacekeeping force as well as the Southern African Development Community’s Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC).

Kagame said the SAMIDRC “is not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation”.

The 16-nation Southern African Development Community will hold a special summit on the crisis on Friday in the Zimbabwean capital.

Angola, which has mediated a ceasefire between the DRC army and M23 in the past, has also called for the Congolese and Rwandan leaders to meet urgently in Luanda.

M23 fighters and Rwandan troops entered Goma on Sunday and after clashes took control of the airport, with AFP reporters saying they were the only forces remaining downtown.

Residents could be seen on the streets today, despite fears.

“There is nothing left to eat, everything has been looted,” said Bosco, a resident who gave only one name.

“We need help urgently.”

The offensive has heightened an already dire humanitarian crisis in the region, causing food and water shortages and forcing half a million people from their homes this month, the United Nations said.

Earlier, hundreds of Congolese soldiers and pro-Kinshasa militiamen, unarmed and wearing white headbands, were marched through the city centre by M23 fighters, a security source said.

The UN, the US, China and the European Union have all called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the region.

But Rwanda’s ambassador-at-large for the Great Lakes region, Vincent Karega, told AFP the M23 advance “will continue”.

It was possible the fighters could push beyond the country’s east — even to Kinshasa, he added.

DRC is rich in gold and other minerals such as cobalt, coltan, tantalum and tin used in batteries and electronics worldwide.

Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of waging the offensive to profit from the region’s mineral wealth — a claim backed by UN experts who say Kigali has thousands of troops in its neighbour and “de facto control” over the M23.

Rwanda has denied the accusations.

Kagame has never admitted military involvement, saying Rwanda’s aim is to destroy a DRC-based armed group, the FDLR, created by former Hutu leaders who massacred Tutsis during the genocide.