M23 fighters expel civilians to Rwanda

Burundian police officers assist Congolese refugees, displaced by ongoing clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to disembark from a truck upon arrival at the Gihanga refugee transit camp in Gihanga on February 17, 2025. [AFP]

Armed fighters from the M23 group, which has taken control of eastern DR Congo's key major town of Goma, on Saturday set about expelling thousands of people they say are illegals from Rwanda, AFP witnessed.

On Monday, the group's military spokesman, Willy Ngoma, had presented to the media 181 men whom they referred to as "Rwandan subjects" illegally in the country at Goma's main sports stadium.