Embassy urged Russians to leave province in DR Congo due to fighting

On January 27, the Russian Embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo urged Russians living in the province of North Kivu to leave its territory because of the hostilities.

"Given the aggravation of the situation in North Kivu province, in particular in its administrative center of Goma, the embassy recommends refraining from travel to this region, and Russian citizens there to leave this territory immediately if possible," the embassy said in a message in the Telegram channel of the diplomatic mission.

In addition, the embassy also asked Russians to exercise caution when moving around the city of Kinshasa in connection with the plans of local youth organizations to hold demonstrations in support of the national army.

Media said Rwanda is ready to invade DRC

In late January, it was reported that the Congolese rebel group Movement of March 23 (M23) had launched an offensive in the eastern part of the DRC against the town of Goma. On January 25, it was reported that clashes were reported between its members and the Congolese army. Later, on January 27, M23 leader Cornel Nangaa announced that he had taken control of the town of Goma. At the same time, Agence France-Presse reported that fighting in the DR Congo town of Goma left at least 17 people dead and about 370 others wounded.

The situation escalated after the DR Congo government broke off diplomatic relations with Rwanda and accused the country of supporting the rebels, who launched a new offensive on the city of Goma.

On January 26, the DR Congo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the immediate withdrawal of its diplomats in the Rwandan capital of Kigali and ordered the country's embassy in Kinshasa to cease operations within 48 hours. The next day, January 27, the Permanent Mission of Algeria to the UN announced that an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council related to developments in the DRC would be held on January 28. This meeting of the UN Security Council will be the second in three days. The previous one was held on January 26. Then the UN Security Council demanded from the Congolese rebel group "March 23 Movement" to stop advancing in the east of the country.