ICRC escorts hundreds of disarmed Congo soldiers from rebel-controlled city
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Hundreds of Congolese soldiers and police officers, along with their families, were transferred from the rebel-controlled town of Goma in eastern Congo to the capital Kinshasa, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday.
The soldiers and police officers have been taking refuge at the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Congo's base since January, when the decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma.
The transfer from Goma to Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west, is expected to last several days, Myriam Favier, the International Committee of the Red Cross chief in Goma, said during a press briefing Wednesday.
The announcement of the transfer was greeted with profound relief by stranded soldiers and police officers.
'We were disarmed because we had no choice, but we hope to reach Kinshasa,' a Congolese soldier told The Associated Press over the phone, ahead of his transfer. 'As soldiers, we are always ready to defend our homeland. We lost a battle, not the war,' the solider added.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was still in the rebel control area and not allowed to speak to reporters.
Sylvain Ekenge, spokesperson for Congo's armed forces, welcomed the initiative in a statement on Wednesday.
'The Congolese Armed Forces hopes that this operation will be carried out in strict compliance with the commitments made,' he said, thanking the ICRC for its role as facilitator.
The operation is the result of an agreement reached between the Congolese government, the rebels, the U.N. mission and the ICRC, which was called upon as a neutral intermediary, the Red Cross said in a statement. Upon arrival in Kinshasa, the soldiers, police officers and their families will be taken in by Congolese authorities, it added.
For security reasons, no media outlets were allowed to film or photograph the operation.
The news of the ICRC's escort comes amid persistent tensions in eastern Congo, where fighting between Congo's army and M23 continues, despite both sides having agreed to work toward a truce earlier this month.
On Saturday, residents of Kaziba in the South Kivu province reported clashes between Congolese armed forces, supported by an allied militia, and M23.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world's most significant humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.
The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Kinshasa.
In Feburary, the U.N. Human Rights Council launched a commission to investigate atrocities, including allegations of rape and killing akin to 'summary executions' by both sides.
Conflict in eastern Congo is estimated to have killed 6 million people since the mid-1990s, in the wake of the Rwanda genocide. Some of the ethnic Hutu extremists responsible for the 1994 killing of an estimated 1 million of Rwanda's minority ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates later fled across the border into eastern Congo, fueling the proxy fighting between rival militias aligned to the two governments.
————-
Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Here's why SpaceX faces a bright future as government contractor despite Musk-Trump divorce
The public breakup between Elon Musk and President Trump has cast a pall over the future of SpaceX – but the mogul's company should remain on a solid trajectory because the two sides need each other. Trump has counted on his estranged First Buddy's privately owned firm to fulfill the administration's plans for NASA to return to the moon, ongoing operations at the International Space Station, a reported classified deal with US intelligence to build hundreds of spy satellites and expanding internet access to rural parts of America. SpaceX – known for building and launching rockets, and the Starlink satellite internet network – has approximately $22 billion in government contracts on the books, according to Reuters. That includes a roughly $5 billion deal to build the Dragon spacecraft for use by NASA, which Musk threatened to decommission in his unhinged social media rants aimed at Trump – only to later reverse course hours later. Trump threatened to end Musk's federal contracts in response to the verbal onslaught, which included the allegation that Trump is 'in the Epstein files' and that he would have 'lost the election' without his help. 'Trump could certainly cancel most deals and contracts if he wants but the government may still have to pay them – depends on the contract details,' a Republican consultant connected with Trump, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the feud, told The Post on Friday. The two men appeared no closer to a detente, with Trump refusing to get on the phone with his former DOGE cost-cutter and largest campaign benefactor after he blasted the White House-backed 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' While that makes for great theater, the split probably works in both of their favors, according to the source. 'Trump and Elon both got what they wanted here,' the GOP consultant said. 'Elon was able to distance himself from Trump in a public enough way to get his businesses back on track and Trump was able to have all of the MAGA warriors who were questioning the bill shut up or even defend it so they could defend Trump and prove they took his side.' SpaceX 'will be fine' despite the fireworks, the source added. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to comment on the war of words. 'President Trump is focused on making our country great again and passing the One Big Beautiful Bill,' she said. SpaceX did not immediately return a request for comment. As the founder, chairman and CEO of SpaceX, Musk is in total control with 79% of the company's voting shares as of 2023, according to a filing at the time. The closely held firm recently secured a $350 billion valuation. Overall, Musk and his businesses that also include Tesla, brain chip firm Neuralink and The Boring Company have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, according to a recent Washington Post analysis. If Trump does decide to go to DefCon 5 on Musk, the billionaire's alleged drug use could be used as one possible lever to wriggle out of the SpaceX contracts. During Trump's first term in office in 2019, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon was reviewing Musk's SpaceX security clearance after he smoked marijuana during an appearance on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast. While Musk has strenuously denied misusing drugs, House Democrats this week requested details from Trump on whether he had any knowledge of Musk working 'under the influence.' The possible loss of government contracts would not be 'catastrophic' for Musk or his rocket company. 'SpaceX has developed itself into a global powerhouse that dominates most of the space industry, but there's no question that it would result in significant lost revenue and missed contract opportunities,' Justus Parmar, CEO of SpaceX investor Fortuna Investments, told Reuters. Meanwhile, MAGA firebrand Steve Bannon called for the South African-born Musk to be deported – and floated the possibility that Trump could use a Korean War-era statute called the Defense Production Act to enable a federal takeover of the privately owned company. However, the headline-grabbing proposal is likely a nonstarter. 'There's no way Bannon's idea of just taking over private companies works out long term, both because it would be litigated and because other companies would keep the US government at arm's length to avoid future similar issues,' the consultant said. 'Neither outcome is workable.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Four Trump administration officials to travel to Santa Fe for regional governors event
Jun. 6—SANTA FE — New Mexico's capital city frequently touts its art galleries, restaurants and progressive policies, but there's a different brand of politics coming to the City Different. Four Cabinet secretaries from President Donald Trump's administration will join seven western governors — including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — later this month at the Western Governors' Association's summer meeting in Santa Fe. The two-day event, which starts June 23 at a luxury downtown hotel, will feature discussions about housing shortages, outdoor recreation and wildfire response efforts, according to an online agenda. It will also allow attendees to mingle with corporate sponsors of the event, and travel to the Santa Fe Opera and other local spots. The Trump administration officials slated to attend the meeting are Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. All four will headline the group's annual meeting as keynote speakers, a WGA spokesman confirmed Friday. Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota, took over as Interior secretary from former New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland in January, after Trump won the election. As for the governors slated to attend the event, the list includes Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Jared Polis of Colorado, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Spencer Cox of Utah, Mark Gordon of Wyoming and Arnold Palacios of the Northern Mariana Islands. Five of those governors are Republicans, with Polis and Lujan Grisham the lone Democrats. Additional governors could also end up attending. As for Lujan Grisham, who will be the event's official host, the governor has vowed to work with Trump administration officials when possible, even while criticizing a Republican-backed plan to trim federal spending on Medicaid and other programs. "My job is to create stability in every single relationship in the federal government," she said during a Bloomberg TV interview last month. The Western Governors' Association is a bipartisan group that includes 19 states and three U.S. territories — American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Previous WGA annual meetings have been held in Olympic Valley, California, and Boulder, Colorado. Meanwhile, Santa Fe has also hosted big political gatherings in past years, including a National Governors Association summer meeting in 2018. That event included a Western-themed reception and a private burning of Zozobra for governors and their family members.
2 hours ago
Wagner Group leaving Mali after heavy losses but Russia's Africa Corps to remain
DAKAR, Senegal -- The Russia-backed Wagner Group said Friday it is leaving Mali after more than three and a half years of fighting Islamic extremists and insurgents in the country. Despite Wagner's announcement, Russia will continue to have a mercenary presence in the West African country. The Africa Corps, Russia's state-controlled paramilitary force, said on its Telegram channel Friday that Wagner's departure would not introduce any changes and the Russian contingent will remain in Mali. "Mission accomplished. Private Military Company Wagner returns home,' the group announced via its channel on the messaging app Telegram. It said it had brought all regional capitals under control of the Malian army, pushed out armed militants and killed their commanders. Mali, along with neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. As Western influence in the region has waned, Russia has sought to step into the vacuum, sweeping in with offers of assistance. Moscow initially expanded its military cooperation with African nations by using the Wagner Group of mercenaries. But since the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash in 2023, after mounting a brief armed rebellion in Russia that challenged the rule of President Vladimir Putin, Moscow has been developing the Africa Corps as a rival force to Wagner. Africa Corps is under direct command of the Russian defense ministry. According to U.S. officials, there are around 2,000 mercenaries in Mali. It is unclear how many are with Wagner and how many are part of the Africa Corps. Beverly Ochieng, a security analyst specializing in the Sahel for Control Risks consultancy, said the Russian defense ministry had been negotiating with Mali to take on more Africa Corps fighters and for Wagner mercenaries to join Russia's state-controlled paramilitary force. 'Since the death of Prigozhin, Russia has had this whole plan to then make the Wagner Group fall under the command of the Ministry of Defense. One of the steps they made was to revamp or introduce the Africa Corps, which is the way in which the Russian paramilitaries would retain a presence in areas where the Wagner group has been operating,' Ochieng said. Wagner has been present in Mali since late 2021 following a military coup, replacing French troops and international peacekeepers to help fight the militants. But the Malian army and Russian mercenaries struggled to curb violence in the country and have both been accused of targeting civilians. Last month, United Nations experts urged Malian authorities to investigate reports of alleged summary executions and forced disappearances by Wagner mercenaries and the army. In December, Human Rights Watch accused Malian armed forces and the Wagner Group of deliberately killing at least 32 civilians over an 8-month span. The announcement of Wagner's withdrawal comes as the Malian army and the Russian mercenaries suffered heavy losses during attacks by the al-Qaida linked group JNIM in recent weeks. Last week, JNIM fighters killed dozens of soldiers in an attack on a military base in central Mali. Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, said the major losses might have caused the possible end of Wagner's mission. 'The lack of an official and mutual announcement from both the Malian authorities and Wagner indicate possible internal dispute which led to this sudden decision. Simultaneously, this could point to a new framework for Russian presence in the country," he said. Replacing Wagner with Africa Corps troops would likely shift Russia's focus in Mali from fighting alongside the Malian army to training, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. 'Africa Corps has a lighter footprint and focuses more on training, providing equipment and doing protection services. They fight less than the 'Rambo-type' Wagner mercenaries,' Laessing said.
