Goma (DR Congo) (AFP) - Gunshots rang out through parts of the besieged DR Congo city of Goma on Tuesday, as Congolese soldiers clashed with militia fighters backed by Rwandan troops ahead of a UN Security Council meeting.

The main city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has become a battleground since fighters from the Tutsi-led M23 armed group and Rwandan forces entered central Goma on Sunday night after a weeks-long advance through the region.

The lightning offensive marks a major escalation in the vast central African country’s mineral-rich east, which has been by plagued by fighting between armed groups backed by regional rivals since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

It has also triggered a spiralling humanitarian crisis, forcing half a million people from their homes since the start of the year, the UN refugee agency said on Monday.

The city of one million, which was already home to an estimated 700,000 internally displaced people, sits on the shores of Lake Kivu on the border with Rwanda.

While gunshots could still be heard in Goma on Tuesday, the intensity of the fighting appeared to have decreased.

Despite the sound of gunfire nearby, some residents ventured down to the shores of the lake, according to AFP correspondents.

Dozens of M23 fighters were seen marching through Goma’s main streets, some wearing bulletproof vests and carrying Congolese weapons.

Several residents said they had been robbed by Congolese soldiers or militia fighters.

“They stole everything from us, our phones, even our shoes. We saw them take off their clothes and throw away their weapons,” said Jospin Nyolemwaka, who fled his neighbourhood.

“We’re starting to leave here, but there was looting yesterday. We saw bodies in the road,” a resident of Goma’s Kituku market area told AFP.

- ‘Extremely worrying’ humanitarian situation -

It was not clear which parts of Goma were under the control of Congolese forces or the Rwandan-backed M23, which claimed it had taken the city on Sunday night.

At least 17 people have been killed and 367 wounded during two days of fighting, according to reports from the city’s overwhelmed hospitals.

“Our surgical teams are now working around the clock to cope with the massive influx of wounded,” Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in North Kivu province, told AFP.

The United Nations said Tuesday that food assistance in and around Goma had been “paused” and voiced concern over food shortages.

“The humanitarian situation in and around Goma is extremely, extremely worrying,” Bruno Lemarquis, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the DRC has said.

For the last four days, residents of the city have been without water or electricity as bombardments hit infrastructure.

South Africa’s defence force said Tuesday that four more of its soldiers were killed fighting the M23, raising the death toll of peacekeepers from a southern Africa regional force and the UN mission in DRC to 17.

- Diplomacy push -

The DRC has accused Rwanda of wanting to get hold of the region’s mineral wealth, including gold – which Kigali denies – and has called for stronger action from the UN.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday afternoon.

After a previous emergency meeting on Sunday, the Congolese government expressed “dismay” at the Council’s “vague” statement, which stopped short of naming Rwanda.

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council was also due to hold an emergency meeting at midday.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who has not yet spoken publicly since the pro-Rwandan forces entered Goma, was due to address the nation later Tuesday.

Kenya has also announced a crisis summit on Wednesday attended by Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.

Angola-mediated talks between Tshisekedi and Kagame were abruptly cancelled in mid-December over disagreements on the terms of a proposed peace deal.

The M23, or March 23 Movement, briefly occupied Goma at the end of 2012 and was defeated by DRC forces and the UN the following year.

The group re-emerged in late 2021 and started seizing large swathes of North Kivu province.

A UN expert report in July said that up to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers were fighting alongside the M23 and that Rwanda had “de facto control” of the group’s operations.

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