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Published 09:25 IST, February 3rd 2025

'Depart to Safer Locations': Indian Embassy in Congo Issues Advisory After Rebels Capture City of Goma

Amid major crisis in Congo with rebels capturing the city of Goma, the Indian Embassy has issued an advisory, asking Indians to depart to safer locations.

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Congo Crisis: Indian Embassy Issues Advisory
Congo Crisis: Indian Embassy Issues Advisory | Image: AP

Dakar: In a huge political crisis in Congo with rebels capturing the strategic city of Goma, marking a sharp escalation of one of the longest ongoing wars in Africa. Amid rising violence and political tensions in Eastern Congo, the Indian Embassy has issued an advisory for Indian nationals, asking them to ‘depart to safer locations’ as soon as possible.

Congo Crisis: Indian Embassy Issues Advisory for Indian Nationals 

The Indian Embassy in Congo has issued an advisory for the Indian nationals amid the ongoing Congo Crisis. The advisory asks the Indians to ‘depart to safer locations' and avoid ‘any travel to Bukavu’.

The advisory read, “The Embassy of India in Kinshasa is closely monitoring the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We have noted the reports of M23 rebel movements towards Bukavu, located around 200 kms from Goma. Given the potential for instability in the region, all Indian nationals residing in Bukavu are advised to depart to safer locations while the airports, borders and commercial routes are still open. We strongly recommend against any travel to Bukavu.”

What is Happening in Congo? 

Rwanda-backed rebels have captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped. Since capturing the city early this week, the rebels also have expanded their presence in surrounding areas and announced their intentions to march on the capital, Kinshasa, nearly 1,000 miles (around 1,600 kilometers) away.

More than 2 million of Goma’s civilian residents, including one million already displaced by the violence, are at risk of “catastrophic” humanitarian consequences, aid groups said. The U.N. has expressed concerns over executions carried out by the rebels, as well as reports of sexual violence. Hospitals are saturated, with over 2,000 wounded people, the World Health Organization said.

Why Has the City of Goma Been Captured by Rebels?

The M23 group is one of about 100 armed factions vying for a foothold in eastern Congo, where a decades-long conflict has raged. The group, made up primarily of ethnic Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army, led a failed insurgency against the Congolese government in 2012. It was then dormant for a decade, until its resurgence in 2022.

“Our objective is Congo, we are fighting for Congo. We are not fighting for minerals, we are not fighting for anything (else)," Corneille Nangaa, one of the political leaders of M23, told The Associated Press. “From a failed state to a modern state whereby we want to make Congo as a business land.”

(Inputs from AP)

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Updated 09:25 IST, February 3rd 2025