Washington, DC — Today, Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sara Jacobs, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement regarding the M23’s reported seizure of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a development which exacerbates an already dire humanitarian crisis with over 400,000 civilians displaced in the past month alone and nearly two million displaced in 2024.

“We strongly condemn the actions of M23 rebels advancing into Goma and impeding humanitarian access by closing roads and airports needed to bring in life-saving supplies for civilians affected by the violence. This escalating humanitarian crisis is also causing the rapid spread of deadly diseases, leading to the deaths of innocent civilians. The Trump Administration’s reckless and sweeping freeze of global foreign assistance last week only puts the international community on its back foot in the face of these troubling developments. Food, medicines, shelter, and protection are all essential to the humanitarian response in the DRC, and we urge the Administration to immediately resume U.S. assistance and save lives.

“We are particularly disturbed by ongoing Rwandan support to the M23, including during the advance on Goma, and by reports of Rwandan military forces using GPS jamming and spoofing that have interfered with the humanitarian response and endangered UN peacekeeping. We condemn the M23’s deadly attacks on MONUSCO peacekeepers that threaten to further destabilize the region.

“We call on all parties to deescalate immediately, abide by and enforce the existing ceasefire agreement, and engage in serious talks to end the conflict. The Congolese and Rwandan governments must fully recommit to the Luanda Process. This includes an immediate end to any Congolese cooperation with or support for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Inflammatory hate speech and ethnically targeted attacks cannot be tolerated.”

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