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Thirteen soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in clashes with rebels from the M23 group.
The South African military said nine of its soldiers were killed while helping push back rebels in the eastern DR Congo town of Goma, while three Malavinese and a Uruguayan were also killed.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to the leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda amid global calls for an end to the violence.
The United Nations is pulling all non-essential staff out of Goma—a city of more than a million people—as fighting intensifies.
A UN Security Council meeting on the deadly clashes, originally scheduled for Monday, was postponed to Sunday due to the escalating conflict.
The M23 group called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender to avoid bloodshed. While Dr. Congo severed diplomatic ties with neighboring Rwanda, accusing the country of rebellion.
The move comes after M23 fighters killed the Congolese military governor who was visiting the front line on Thursday. Earlier in January, they captured the key eastern Congolese towns of Minawa and Masisi.
On Saturday, Macron called for an end to the fighting in separate calls with the leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas called on M23 to stop its success and condemned Rwanda’s support for the group, AFP news agency reported.
Further condemnation came from Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the African Union mediator between Rwanda and DR Congo, who denounced the “irresponsible actions of M23 and its supporters” and called for an “immediate end” to the struggle to preserve civilian life, according to the AFP news agency.
Fighting between the M23 and Dr. Kong’s army has intensified since the start of the year, with the rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before.
The conflict has already forced more than 400,000 people to flee their homes this year, according to the UN.
Local leaders said last week that more than 200 civilians had died in areas seized by the M23, with hospitals in Goma treating hundreds of patients.
Martin Gordon, the Anglican bishop in Goma, told the BBC the fighting in the country had gone on “for too long” and people would “do anything for peace”.
In the past few days, several countries have called on their citizens to leave Goma, including the UK, France, Germany and the US.
Human Rights Watch warns of escalating risks to civilians as Congolese army battles M23 rebels. The humanitarian group has accused both sides of committing serious abuses against civilians.
The UN warns that the ongoing conflict is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Since 2021, M23 has taken control of a large mineral mine, rich in mineral minerals.
Dr Congo and UN say M23 is backed by Rwanda. Rwandan authorities have neither confirmed nor denied.
Rwanda has previously claimed that authorities in Dr. Congo worked with some of those responsible for Rwanda’s 1994 genocide against the ethnic Tuta and moderate Hutus.
M23, which was formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the Tutsi population in eastern DR Congo, which has long complained of persecution and discrimination.
However, Rwanda’s critics accuse him of using the M23 to rob Eastern DR Congo of minerals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.
