Congolese soldiers flee to Rwanda as M23 Rebels capture Goma

Muhamad Yehia

Dozens of Congolese army soldiers fled into the Rwandan border town of Rubavu on Monday, where they surrendered their weapons and were processed by Rwandese border officials.

It follows an advance by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who claimed they had captured the eastern city of Goma early Monday.

Gunshots rang out across Goma overnight before dozens of rebels in military uniform marched into the city early Monday morning.

The U.N. described a mass panic among Goma’s 2 million residents and Congo’s government said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war”.