Hundreds flee to Rwanda from eastern Congo's city of Goma as rebels claim capture of key city

Подробнее о видео

(28 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gyseny, Rwanda - 28 January 2025
1. Wide of Congolese men, women and children carrying their belongings crossing Gyseny border into Rwanda near Goma, Congo
2. Mid of male refugees at border gate
3. Wide of sign reading (English) "Democratic Republic of Congo"
4. Various of refugees laying out belongings for search by Rwandan soldiers
5. Various of Congolese refugees disembarking from buses and being assisted by Rwandan Red Cross
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Habinshuti, Rwanda's public secretary for Emergency Management:
"As I mentioned, as we speak we are estimating a 1,200 (refugees) that are here. We are providing the basic services. Those include the safety, medical assistance for those in need, food and nutrition and also provision of basic materials for them to be fine here."
7. Various of Congolese refugees being registered by Rwandan Red Cross volunteers
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Habinshuti, Rwanda's public secretary for Emergency Management:
"This is not new, we have been starting to receive people fleeing fights on the other side of the border since November 2022."
9. Various of Congolese refugees gathered
10. Various of Congo army soldiers who fled across Rwandan border inside gymnasium
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Robert Boza, Congo army soldier:
"If Rwanda was the enemy here, we wouldn’t be this well taken care of. We have eaten and we are well accommodated.”
Reporter (French): "So you don't think Rwanda is the enemy?"
Robert Boza (French): "No. The enemy is M23.”
12. Mid of Congo army soldiers inside gymnasium
13. Various of Congolese refugees standing in line to register in Rwanda, holding identity documents
STORYLINE:
Rwanda has accepted over 1,200 refugees fleeing fighting in Goma between Rwanda-backed rebels and Congolese forces, according to a government official on the border.

Hundreds of men, women and children were seen streaming across the border into Rwanda at the town of Gisenyi on Tuesday.

Rwandan soldiers stood guard at the border crossing, checking young men coming into their country and searching them for weapons.

The Rwandan Red Cross was registering the incoming refugees and providing them with food and shelter.

Among the refugees are approximately 120 Congo army soldiers that handed their weapons over to Rwandan government forces near the border, according to Rwandan officials.

Many of the soldiers appeared to be in good condition and said they opted to hand in their weapons to avoid further bloodshed.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo's largest city, as U.N. officials reported an unspecified number of bodies on the streets.

The officials said hospitals are overwhelmed in Goma, a regional trade and humanitarian hub that is a refuge for hundreds of thousands now fleeing gunfire and shelling in the major escalation in one of Africa’s longest conflicts driven by ethnic tensions.

The M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the conflict-battered North Kivu province — which includes Goma — rich in minerals critical to much of the world’s technology.

The U.N. and several countries including the United States, United Kingdom and France have condemned Rwanda for the rebel advance.

The country, however, blames Congo for the escalation, saying it failed to honour past peace agreements, necessitating Rwanda's "sustained defensive posture.”

Some analysts worry about the risk of a regional war if peace efforts led by Kenya fail.


AP video shot by Adeline Umutoni



Find out more about AP Archive:
Twitter:
Facebook: ​​
Instagram:


You can license this story through AP Archive: