DRC – Crisis in Goma: Félix Tshisekedi absent from the virtual summit

The crisis between the president of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, and Paul Kagame, initially scheduled for this Wednesday, January 29, had been organized on the initiative of Kenya following the takeover of almost all of the city of Goma by M23 rebels and the Rwandan army.

This meeting, aimed at resolving a new crisis in the Goma frontal region, in the DRC, prey for thirty years to violence linked to armed groups, however, could not take place. Indeed, the Congolese Press Agency (ACP) announced in the afternoon that Félix Tshisekedi would not participate in the virtual summit of the heads of state of the Eastern African States, actually evoking “Reasons of the agenda”.

The situation in the city of Goma now seems sealed: the M23 and the Rwandan army now almost entirely control the center and the surroundings. The fighting left more than one hundred dead and almost a thousand injured, according to an AFP assessment based on hospitals.

Since the start of the crisis, Félix Tshisekedi has remained silent. His government has declared a “Rwanda War Declaration”while reaffirming his desire to avoid a “Carnage”. In recent days, Kinshasa and Kigali have broken their diplomatic relations by recalling their respective ambassadors.