Thousands of Congolese soldiers and policemen have defected
to the M23 rebels, as rebel leaders vowed to take control of all of the
Congo.
"We are now going to Kinshasa. No one will divide this country," said
Colonel Vianney Kazarama, the M23 spokesperson, to a cheering crowd of
thousands on Wednesday.
The rebels organised the rally at Goma's Stadium of Volcanoes after
seizing control of the strategic city in eastern Congo on Tuesday.
Kazarama first welcomed the crowd in Swahili by shouting "Goma Jambo!" meaning "Hello Goma!".
Kazarama said the M23 rebels' next goal is Bukavu, the capital of South
Kivu province on the other side of Lake Kivu.
He claimed the rebels already control the town of Sake, 27km from
Goma on the road to Bukavu, and will soon take Minova, a lakeside town
in South Kivu.
More than 2 100 army troops and 700 police turned in their weapons,
according to M23's Colonel Seraphin Mirindi. The former army troops and
policemen piled up their arms and ammunition in the stadium.
In Bukavu people are already demonstrating against the Kinshasa
government and in support of the rebels, according to local residents
reached by phone.
The Congo soldiers remaining in the government army near Goma said they are not sure what to do.
"We are waiting for orders now. We don't know what we are supposed to
do. It's hard. My comrades who defected in Goma, we're going to fight
them," said a Congolese army major reached by phone in Kanyabayonga,
106km to the south, where the troops have regrouped.
The major required
anonymity because of the uncertain situation.
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