Congo rebels seize Goma airport
Rebel fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, believed to be backed by neighbouring Rwanda, have entered the city of Goma and seized the international airport, a spokesman for the group said today.
The assault was punctuated by heavy gunfire.
Colonel Vianney Kazarama, spokesman for the M23 rebel movement, told the Associated Press by telephone that the rebels are now fighting for control of the rest of Goma.
“We already took the airport,” he said today. “We are now inside the city of Goma.”
Goma was last threatened by rebels in 2008 when fighters stopped just short of the provincial capital.
The United Nations has said that if Goma was to fall, a humanitarian catastrophe would result.
The rebels are opposed by Congolese government forces backed by UN peacekeeping troops and their attack helicopters.
