While the guns were quiet on the front, yesterday was tense in Goma city. Rumours circulated that Col. Mamadou- the soldier in charge of FARDC operations against M23 around Goma- was being recalled to Kinshasa at the request of the UN Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO). Residents were up in arms and followed the Col. through the streets on motorbike screaming that he must stay and that they would attack MONUSCO for blocking the FARDC. This motorbike taxi-man was ready for battle...
And the whole population was up in arms and vociferous in support of the Col. and the FARDC. A strange phenomenon in Goma perhaps- the capital city of a Province that has seen continuous armed bloodshed for the past 20 years. But support for the Col. (inside the truck) was certainly loud...
This photo is from outside Col. Mamadou's office in the command centre in Goma. He had just arrived followed by many motorbikes in an impromptu show of support.
The jubilation of the crowd in the photo above turned to anger at MONUSCO later in the morning as the false rumour of his imminent departure circulated.
Protests against MONUSCO in Goma took place later in the afternoon. I drove through the protest but didn't stop as the situation was too tense.
While rumours were spreading, around midday up near the front line, as Col. Mamadou received news of the rumours and worked to quell the population's anxiety...
He confirmed the rumour was not true and later spoke on Radio Okapi to clarify.
Getting the hang of this...