M23 rebels have captured the airport in Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, cutting off critical humanitarian aid routes and escalating the region’s worst crisis in over a decade.
The offensive, which began Monday, has left dead bodies in the streets, according to the U.N., with reports of rapes, looting, and overwhelmed hospitals. “Many dead bodies [are] in the streets,” U.N. humanitarian spokesperson Jens Laerke said, adding that health facilities have been hit.
The U.N. confirmed M23 rebels now control the airport, a lifeline for aid workers and supplies. “There is no viable access by road or boat on Lake Kivu,” said Christoph Vogel, a Congo researcher.
In the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, protesters attacked U.N. and foreign embassies, accusing Rwanda of backing M23. Looters targeted Kenya’s embassy, while U.S. embassy staff have been ordered to leave.
South Africa confirmed the deaths of 13 peacekeepers caught in the fighting.
The U.N. and global powers fear the conflict could spill into a regional war. The violence traces back to the fallout from the 1994 Rwandan genocide and Congo’s mineral wealth, with Rwanda and Congo trading accusations of fueling militias.
Thousands of Goma residents are fleeing to Rwanda, as gunfire and explosions persist in the city.