STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The United Nations Security Council has been talking about the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rebels in that country claim to have taken control of the city of Goma, which happens to be in a mineral-rich region. So how far could this war spread? We begin our coverage with NPR's Michele Kelemen.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Eastern Congo is home to some of the world's largest reserves of rare earth minerals. It was at the center of what was once called Africa's world war a couple of decades ago. And these days, a Rwandan-backed rebel group known as the M23 has overrun the city of Goma. A U.N. official, Vivian van de Perre, made an impassioned plea from there during a Security Council meeting.
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VIVIAN VAN DE PERRE: The degree of suffering that the population in Goma and its environs - is truly unimaginable. Let us please draw on our humanity and do our utmost to bring an immediate end to such levels of violence and suffering.
KELEMEN: Speaking via video wearing a flak jacket and helmet, she said 178,000 people have been uprooted in the recent fighting, and the humanitarian situation is dire. Three U.N. peacekeepers have been killed. While Rwanda and the DRC traded accusations in the Security Council, the U.N. secretary-general spoke to the leaders of both, according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
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STEPHANE DUJARRIC: Look, the crisis in the Eastern Congo has been going on for decades. It's not going to be solved in 24 hours. What is clear is that it will not be solved through military operations by different governments, by different militias.
KELEMEN: Tensions are also spilling over in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Non-English language spoken).
KELEMEN: Protesters set fires outside the U.N. offices and the U.S. embassy, as well as many other diplomatic posts. The U.S. embassy is closed to the public, and the State Department is advising Americans to shelter in place and leave the DRC when and if they can. At the U.N., U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the world must not allow the violence to spiral into a wider regional war.
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DOROTHY SHEA: Rwanda must withdraw troops from the DRC. Rwanda and the DRC must return to the negotiating table and work toward a sustainable, peaceful solution.
KELEMEN: And if they don't, she says, they should face a, quote, "clear and unambiguous response" from the Security Council.
Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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