Over the past two months, about 220 miles south of Beni, where CME operates one of its 3 hospitals, the M23, together with as many as 10,000 to 12,000 Rwandan troops, has overrun an area of eastern Congo that is home to more than five million people. In late January, the rebels captured Goma, the largest city in the province of North Kivu; less than three weeks later, they also seized Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, as well as a key airport, thereby cutting off Congolese forces from resupply. The Congolese government puts the number of dead so far at 7,000.
Although the Rwanda offensive has raised growing global alarm, Western and international powers have been slow to take meaningful action. After the M23 seized Goma, U.S. and European officials issued statements of concern but did little more. Only on February 21, after Bukavu also fell, did the UN Security Council pass a resolution formally condemning the M23 offensive and calling for a cease-fire and the immediate withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory.
Since then, the United States has sanctioned a key Rwandan minister, the United Kingdom has announced that it is suspending bilateral aid to Rwanda, and the European Union has said it is reviewing an agreement with Rwanda to jointly exploit critical minerals.
The information above was taken from the following article written on 3rd March 2025:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/democratic-republic-congo/how-far-will-rwanda-go-congo The impact on CME has been indirect so far. Many of its staff have friends and family in the Goma and Bukavu regions. There have been many rumours of the M23 moving west towards Kinshasa the capital of DRC as well as north towards the CME sites.
One of our colleagues wrote to us this week from Beni that “the rebels are like wounded dogs now; killing without control”.
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