Nine South African soldiers killed as eastern Congo conflict escalates by Reuters

(Reuters) – South Africa’s defense ministry said on Saturday, as Congolese troops and peace forces fought in the conflict zone in eastern Congo.

The DRC and its allies earlier repelled an overnight advance on the provincial capital of more than a million people, two army sources said. The sound of heavy shelling nearby shook the city in the early hours.

The three-year M23 insurgency in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo intensified in January, with rebels controlling more territory than ever before, prompting the United Nations to warn of the risk of a wider regional war.

As of Friday, the South African National Defense Force said in a statement that two days of brutal fighting had killed two South Africans deployed on a UN peacekeeping mission and seven others in the South African regional bloc’s force in Congo.

“The members put up a valiant fight to prevent the rebels from moving into Goma as was their intention,” he said, adding that M23 had been pushed back.

The deaths follow an escalation in hostilities that also led to the killing of North Kivu’s military governor on the front line this week.

Reuters reporters there said the situation appeared calm in Goma on Saturday with people initially going about their business amid a heavy police presence.

The Congolese government and army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fighting situation in the region.

The United Nations said on Saturday that it had begun temporarily relocating non-essential staff from Goma due to the deteriorating security situation in the province.

Hundreds of thousands are fleeing

Congo, the United Nations and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of fueling the conflict with its troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this, but the increase in fighting has prompted renewed calls for its separation.

“Rwanda must stop its support for the M23 and withdraw,” the EU said in a statement on Saturday.

The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

M23 briefly managed to take over GOMA during a previous rebellion in 2012, which prompted international donors to reduce aid to Rwanda. Even then, the rebels did not hold as much as they do now.

Insecurity has also deepened an already dire humanitarian situation in the eastern provinces, with another 400,000 people forced to flee their homes this year alone, according to the UN refugee agency.

“The situation facing civilians in Goma has become increasingly precarious and the humanitarian needs are enormous,” Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the crisis.