Brussels residents will take the streets of the capital on Wednesday to denounce the ongoing violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Violence has taken over Eastern DRC after the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 seized control of Goma on Monday, escalating the ongoing conflict. On Tuesday, the M23 and Rwandan troops took control of the airport in Goma. In the Congolese capital Kinshasa, protestors attacked various embassies. The Belgium Embassy's gate was also briefly set on fire.
The Belgian Congolese diaspora will gather at around 11:00 at Place de la Nation in Brussels to denounce Belgium's political response to the rebel seizure of Goma, Belga News Agency reports.
At 18:00, a rally will also take place at Place du Luxembourg to denounce the seizure of Goma. The action is organised by the collective About Congo, in collaboration with La Lucha, Mémoire coloniale and Filimbi.
Christian Democrats CD&V and green Ecolo politicians called for EU sanctions against Rwanda on Monday. On the same day, outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Quintin called the M23 actions a "violation of international law and international humanitarian law." The EU and the Flemish Red Cross announced funds for humanitarian aid on Tuesday.
However, the international response so far has not been sufficient for all. "I cannot understand why the UN, the EU and Belgium are not taking sanctions against Rwanda, despite the recent UN report documenting Rwanda's support for M23," Brussels politician Laurent Mutambayi (N-VA) told Bruzz on Tuesday.
"Congo is being looted and Rwandan President Paul Kagamé is given a free pass by the West to do his thing. Why is everyone looking away?" Mutambayi added.
The recent violence in Goma has left over 100 dead and around 1,000 injured, according to an AFP report on Tuesday evening. Over 500,000 have been displaced since early January due to fighting in Eastern DRC, the Congolese Foreign Affairs Minister said on Tuesday.
