ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday Rwanda had agreed to allow entry to its nationals stranded in Congo where rebel fighters this week marched into Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict in more than a decade, leaving bodies lying in the streets and hospitals overwhelmed.

M23 is the latest in a string of ethnic Tutsi-led, Rwandan-backed insurgencies that have roiled Congo since the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda 30 years ago, when Hutu extremists killed Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and then were toppled by the Tutsi-led forces led by Kagame.

Rwanda says some of the ousted perpetrators have been sheltering in Congo since the genocide, forming militias with alliances with the Congolese government, and pose a threat to Congolese Tutsis and Rwanda itself.

Congo rejects Rwanda’s complaints, and says Rwanda has used its proxy militias to control and loot lucrative minerals such as coltan, which is used in smartphones.

“Following the recent escalation of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), around 150 Pakistanis were stranded in the city of Goma,” the foreign office in Islamabad said in a statement. 

“With the active engagement of Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Kigali, Ambassador Naeemullah Khan, the Rwandan authorities have allowed the entry of stranded Pakistanis into Rwanda. So far around 75 Pakistanis have moved to Rwanda.”

The Pakistan High Commission in the Rwandan capital of Kigal has arranged accommodation and food for the affected Pakistanis.

“The High Commission is also reaching out to the Pakistani community to identify and reach out to any other citizen in difficulty,” the statement said. “There is likelihood of more Pakistanis crossing over to Rwanda in the coming days.”

High commission staff is in contact with all individual who have sought assistance and help and is also reaching out to Pakistanis in the border city of Bukavu.

The statement said any Pakistanis requiring assistance could contact the high commission at the following number: Mr. Pervez Bhatti, Head of Chancery, WhatsApp +92 333 5328517.

M23 rebels captured Goma, a city of 2 million people in the DRC, on Monday, ignoring widespread calls for them to halt their offensive and enact a ceasefire. They extended their advance on Wednesday. 

Rwandan forces backed up M23 in Goma, according to Congo, the United States and other Western powers. Rwanda has denied its involvement.