AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Goma, a key hub in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fell to the M23 rebels and Rwandan forces earlier this week after days of fierce street combat with Congolese forces in the city of over 2 million people. It was a dramatic culmination of a 3-year conflict which now threatens to spark a regional war in Central Africa. But inside Goma, the city's new masters are moving quickly to establish control. Emmet Livingstone reports from Goma.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting in non-English language).
EMMET LIVINGSTONE, BYLINE: It sounds like a celebration.
(CHEERING)
LIVINGSTONE: Hundreds of people wave M23 banners, chanting for peace and justice. Videos from the event spread on social media, purporting to show the depth of Goma's support for the M23, an armed group led by Congolese Tutsi and backed by neighboring Rwanda. But the reality is a lot different. The crowd were from a displacement camp outside of Goma, who said they'd been told to turn up. Once they arrived, M23 activists handed out the banners in front of the clicking cameras of Rwandan journalists.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
LIVINGSTONE: "We heard that they had something to say," said one young displaced man. "We just want peace. We want to go home. Everyone is tired of this life." Like many, he's too scared to share his name, scared of what the consequences might be. M23 (ph) leaders, though, say they're acting in people's benefit.
CORNEILLE NANGAA: (Non-English language spoken).
LIVINGSTONE: "Our vocation is the absence of the state," says Corneille Nangaa, the head of the M23's political arm, the Congo River Alliance. We conduct the interview surrounded by masked gunmen in a room in one of Goma's five-star hotels. The M23, he claims, is fighting to restore security, end corruption and protect minority populations, especially the ethnic Tutsi.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
LIVINGSTONE: The soundtrack of fighting is a familiar one to people in this region. Eastern Congo, which is rich in critical minerals, has been plagued by armed conflict for three decades, a legacy of wars that ravaged the region after the 1994 Tutsi genocide in neighboring Rwanda. When the Hutu-dominated Rwandan regime that committed the genocide collapsed, millions of people, including Hutu extremists, fled into Congo sparking a series of conflicts. Experts say the M23, which has its roots in earlier Tutsi-led militias in Eastern Congo, is a proxy for Rwandan interests. According to U.N. experts, Rwanda has also deployed thousands of troops in Congo to support the M23. Both the Congolese army and the M23 stand accused of abuses.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Shouting in non-English language).
LIVINGSTONE: And there were ominous scenes in Goma this week. In plain sight, thousands of captured Congolese soldiers and militia fighters were marched from the stadium and placed in open trucks to be transported to the hinterland. Their fate is unknown. The prisoners shouted in anger from the trucks, watched by eerily silent M23 fighters who were dressed in fatigues and wielding machine guns.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
LIVINGSTONE: Amid the deep uncertainty, most Goma residents are keeping their heads down and trying to return to their lives. Goma's power lines were damaged in the battle for the city. Water is still in short supply, and there's no internet connection. The U.N. says at least 700 people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured, numbers that are likely to rise.
(CROSSTALK)
LIVINGSTONE: The severity of the fighting belies the beauty of Goma, which is nestled between a towering volcano and the glittering Lake Kivu, one of Africa's great lakes. These days, the lake shores are thronged with people seeking to collect water and wash.
(CROSSTALK)
LIVINGSTONE: Standing by the water, Batchou Ramazani says the battle for Goma was terrible. He and his family had sheltered indoors, afraid of catching a stray bullet.
BATCHOU RAMAZANI: (Non-English language spoken).
LIVINGSTONE: "War is not a good thing," he added, deploying an understatement that's characteristic of many people in Eastern Congo. For now, M23 fighters are mostly leaving people alone, but people live in fear of what they could do.
On Friday, M23 activists walked around neighborhoods with microphones telling people to clean up the streets in an act of traditional communal labor known as salongo. Almost everyone obeyed, rising early on Saturday to sweep streets and dig up plastic trash long baked into muddy city roads. No one is taking any chances. For NPR News, I'm Emmet Livingstone in Goma. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.