International peacekeepers killed as fighting rages around eastern DRC’s key city

International peacekeepers killed as fighting rages around eastern DRC’s key city

🇨🇩🇨🇩🇨🇩International peacekeepers killed as fighting rages around eastern DRC’s key city

United Nations and army officials say fighting with M23 rebels in eastern DRC has left at least 13 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers dead.

DRC, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the DRC army more than a decade ago.

Kigali has denied accusations that it backs the rebels but last year acknowledged that it has troops and missile systems in eastern DRC to safeguard its security, pointing to what is said was a buildup of Congolese forces near the border.

The burning wreckage of a white armored fighting vehicle carrying UN markings could be seen on a road between Goma and Sake on Saturday, where much of the fighting was concentrated in recent days.

Two South African peacekeepers were killed Friday, while a Uruguayan Blue Helmet was killed Saturday, a U.N. official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the matter publicly.

Additionally, three Malawian peacekeepers were killed in eastern DRC, the United Nations in Malawi said Saturday.

Seven South African soldiers from the SAMIDRC were also killed during clashes with M23 over the last two days, South Africa’s department of defense said in a statement.

Uruguay’s military in a statement issued Saturday identified its member killed in DRC as Rodolfo Álvarez, who was part of the Uruguay IV Battalion. The unit, according to the statement, is working “uninterruptedly to comply with the United Nations mandate, as well as to guarantee the evacuation of non-essential civilian and military personnel from the city of Goma.”