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Old 29th Nov 2012, 14:13
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rcsa
 
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population movement

Temp,

Where did you read that "all the people are being forced out of Goma?" As far as I can establish, the rebels who came into Goma a week ago are leaving Goma, under the terms of a peace treaty agreed between regional leaders in Kampala. There are several thousand refugees from other conflicts/economic migrants/ people displaced by volcanic activity / people who want to live in Goma but can't afford to, who all live (and have lived for twenty years) in refugees camps just north of Goma; they usually pack up and move everytime a new armed group comes through their camps (I think this is the fifth time in six years, but I may have lost count).

As far as I can tell, most of the population of Goma, Masisi, and Sake have stayed put, kept their heads down, got on with their lives, and not been hurt. Best figures I can find suggest that approx 150 rebels were killed in the advance since July; a handful of government soldiers were killed (most surrendered or ran away). The government in Kinshasa claim M23 have killed 64 civilians, but I've not seen that corroborated by witnesses on the ground.
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