Photos: YouTube Screenshots
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern DR Congo during a call with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, underscoring Kigali’s role in the escalating conflict.
![](https://blackstarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-09-31-15-marco-rubio-and-paul-kagame-youtube-Google-Search.png)
The M23 militia — which experts believe is funded by Rwanda, despite Kigali’s denials — appeared to consolidate its control of the key city of Goma on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee.
Rubio told Kagame that the US was “deeply troubled by the escalation” in fighting and asked “all parties to respect sovereign territorial integrity,” a State Department spokesperson said, after Rubio criticized the “assault on Goma by the Rwanda-backed M23” in a call with DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi earlier in the week.
The growing humanitarian crisis in the country has prompted attacks on the Rwandan and US embassies in the capital city Kinshasa.
![](https://blackstarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-09-33-39-Several-embassies-attacked-in-DRC-as-Rwanda-backed-M23-rebels-advance-YouTube-1024x470.png)