“All our citizens are safe,” MEA says on DRC conflict

Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that all Indians in the Democratic Republic of Congo are safe amid the ongoing conflict.

Jaiswal while addressing a press briefing said that the Indian embassy in Kinshasa is in constant touch with the Indians there.

“In Democratic Republic of Congo. There we saw that in some parts of some cities struggle is going on. About twenty-five thousand Indian citizens live in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Where the battle was going on for two days, I think the fight has been stalled there. There were 1,000 Indian citizens in the city of Goma, most of them have left safely. Our embassy has issued several advisories as well as helpline numbers so that if anyone faces any problem, contact them immediately and us. The embassy in Kinshasa is quite far from the city of Goma, approximately 2,500 kilometers away. The embassy is in constant touch with the community. All our citizens are safe and our embassy is in constant contact with our community,” he said.

Indian Embassy issued an advisory on Thursday for Indians in Bukavu, South Kivu and DRC.

“The Embassy of India in Kinshasa is closely monitoring the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We have noted the reports of M23 rebel movements towards Bukavu, located around 200 kms from Goma. Given the potential for instability in the region, all Indian nationals residing in Bukavu are advised to depart to safer locations while the airports, borders and commercial routes are still open. We strongly recommend against any travel to Bukavu,” the embassy said.

Gunfire rang out across parts of Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), hours after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said they had seized it despite the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to the offensive, Al Jazeera reported.

Rwanda-backed rebels are closing in on the key eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo city of Bukavu, promising to continue their lightning offensive until they take the national capital, Al Jazeera reported.

The bloody conflict in the eastern DRC took a dramatic turn this week when Kigali-backed fighters from the M23 claimed to take control of Goma in North Kivu province before advancing southwards in the direction of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.