Photo essay

Congo's agony:
the fall of Goma

As rebels encroached on the city, anxious residents met to discuss escape plans

The big push began on January 23rd, when fighters belonging to M23, a rebel militia, and Rwandan troops descended on Goma, a major city in eastern Congo, from the hills around it. From my vantage point in the suburbs, I saw Congolese tanks roll past cheering crowds. Above my head, helicopter gunships soared over glittering Lake Kivu to strike enemy positions. Militia fighters packed three or four to a motorbike zoomed past us, their Kalashnikovs sticking out like the spikes of a sea urchin.

It was immediately clear that these battles were of a different intensity from any that had come before during three years of conflict. Over the following days, as the fighting inched closer to the city, everyday life became increasingly chaotic. Power lines were struck, leaving most of the city without electricity. The internet cut out. Sombre, urgent conversations took place in once-bustling restaurants as people discussed ways to escape the city.

I decamped from a shared house to a lakeside hotel in search of a generator and internet connection. By January 26th it was clear that the M23 and Rwandan troops were on the verge of reaching the city. As I rushed back to the house that morning to fetch some things I’d forgotten, gunships flew low over rooftops, while honking cars raced past at lunatic speeds.

By nightfall, the thud of artillery had stopped, to be replaced by gunfire as Goma became the scene of vicious street-fighting. Bullets whistled through the air, and ear-splitting mortar blasts landed close to our hotel. Most of the guests had left and those who remained were mainly journalists.

Across the city, people cowered indoors, unable to sleep much, consumed with anxiety for their friends and family. Text messages flew back and forth: “Were those Rwandan troops in those boats on the lake?” “How bad is it where you are?” As I write, the city’s last defences have been overrun. Emmet Livingstone

In the early hours of January 27th, M23 forces entered Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo (opening image). A few days earlier, refugees fleeing from the Rwanda-backed rebels’ advance started arriving in the city by boat (above)

Weeks of conflict between M23 and Congolese armed forces have overwhelmed local hospitals, such as this one on the outskirts of Goma

Mariam Nasibu stands by the bed of her ten-year-old daughter Deborah, who was wounded in the crossfire on Thursday

“Militia fighters packed three or four to a motorbike zoomed past us, their Kalashnikovs sticking out like the spikes of a sea urchin”

A United Nations (UN) armoured personnel carrier burns after clashing with M23 forces. At least 13 soldiers serving with the UN and other international peacekeeping forces have been killed since M23 began to advance on Goma last week

UN troops supported Congolese forces as M23 moved to encircle the city. The Congolese government has described Rwanda’s role in the capture of Goma as a “declaration of war”

Children watch as Congolese and UN troops prepare to fight the rebels. UN aid agencies have warned that Goma faces a humanitarian crisis

On Friday Britain, France and America warned their citizens to leave Goma as the battles intensified. Local people, displaced by the fighting, fled to the centre of town

“Sombre, urgent conversations took place in once-bustling restaurants as people discussed ways to escape the city”

As M23 troops walk down a street in Keshero, a district of Goma, a man and two children speed past them on a chukudu, a wooden scooter

Human Rights Watch, an advocacy group, warned of catastrophic consequences as M23 approached Goma. The rebel group has urged residents to remain calm

Romanian mercenaries fighting for the Congolese government surrendered to UN peacekeepers when the city fell. To their relief, they were permitted to return home via neighbouring Rwanda

M23 troops patrol the streets of Goma, now firmly under their control. Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to retake the city

PHOTOGRAPHS: MOSES SAWASAWA/AP PHOTO, GETTY IMAGES