Reuters reported on rebels taking control of Goma airport in DR Congo

Congolese rebels from the March 23 Movement (M23) took control of the airport of the city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Reuters reported on January 28.

"Rebels seized the airport of Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, on Tuesday, potentially cutting off a major aid delivery route for hundreds of thousands of displaced people after seizing the city in an offensive," the publication said.

According to the publication, much of the fighting has been centered around the airport, and several diplomatic and security sources said Tuesday afternoon that M23 rebels had taken full control of it.

"It was through the airport that the UN, humanitarian groups, peacekeepers and even the Congolese army were delivering supplies," the agency quoted DR Congo researcher Christophe Vogel as saying, adding that there was no real access by road or boat to Lake Kivu, on the border between Rwanda and DRC.

In addition, according to French newspaper L'Humanité, fighting between elements of the Congolese rebel group M23 and the Congolese army has raised the number of casualties in Gomo to 400.

On January 27, M23 leader Cornel Nangaa announced that he had taken control of the town of Goma. The rebels cut the routes for food and basic necessities to the city from the south. At the same time, Agence France-Presse reported that at least 17 people were killed and about 370 others were wounded as a result of the fighting in the town of Goma in DR Congo.

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 foreign ministry 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.

On January 27, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia was concerned about the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and called on the parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities.