More than 1,300 Congolese soldiers, police officers, and their family members have been evacuated from the eastern city of Goma by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the humanitarian agency confirmed Thursday. The city has been under the control of the M23 rebel group since January.
The operation comes in the wake of intensified conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the M23, accused by United Nations experts of receiving support from Rwanda, took control of Goma earlier this year. The offensive has led to thousands of deaths and forced around 2,000 members of the national security forces to take refuge in UN peacekeeping bases under MONUSCO.
In late April, the ICRC began escorting unarmed Congolese personnel and their dependents on a 2,000-kilometre overland journey to the capital, Kinshasa. According to the organisation, 1,359 individuals had been relocated by Thursday.
“This mission was one of the most complex we’ve undertaken in the region,” said the ICRC in a statement. “It involved lengthy negotiations with MONUSCO, Congolese authorities, and the M23 group, particularly after rebel forces denied the use of Goma’s airport, which remains closed.”
UN sources say that since January, several hundred members of the Congolese security forces have either defected to M23 or fled the UN compounds altogether, raising alarm over the fragmentation of the national defence structure.
The ICRC reiterated that the operation was carried out on humanitarian grounds, with strict adherence to principles of neutrality and impartiality. It also urged all parties to allow unhindered access to civilians in need and to respect international humanitarian law.
Eastern DR Congo has been the epicentre of protracted armed conflict, with local populations bearing the brunt of cycles of violence, displacement, and instability. The latest developments in Goma further underscore the urgency of coordinated regional and international action.