KINSHASHA, DRC — M23 fighters seized a major airport in Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo on Tuesday following an unanticipated attack on the city that has left dozens dead and displaced thousands of citizens.
The widespread attacks, which erupted last week, are the most violent conflict to unfold in Congo since the end of the decades-long fallout of the Rwandan genocide.
During a news briefing on Tuesday, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, “There are real risks of breakdown of law and order in the city.”
In Kinshasa, the United States embassy was among several foreign countries to be attack by protestors on Monday.
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department reportedly ordered embassy staff to leave Congo.
More on the history of the conflict in Congo.