Will Ross

Very clear that one of the things he wants to do is kind of create a whole new reality by challenging the conventional wisdom. You could say he has done that, but he still has to have Arab states who are prepared to go along. And this is clearly very difficult.

Very clear that one of the things he wants to do is kind of create a whole new reality by challenging the conventional wisdom. You could say he has done that, but he still has to have Arab states who are prepared to go along. And this is clearly very difficult.

for Arab states to go along, because whether he intends it this way, and I'm not sure that he does, I really think he seems to intend this more as we're going to transform an area, a land area that has always been impoverished. It's a real estate building problem. It's not a political problem. The problem, I think, for President Trump is that in the region, it's looked at as a political issue.

for Arab states to go along, because whether he intends it this way, and I'm not sure that he does, I really think he seems to intend this more as we're going to transform an area, a land area that has always been impoverished. It's a real estate building problem. It's not a political problem. The problem, I think, for President Trump is that in the region, it's looked at as a political issue.

It's not just, you know, Goma City that's suffering at the moment. You have to remember that before this latest conflict around Goma flared up... The whole region was suffering with immense amounts of problems, largely brought on by the presence of so many dozens of groups. So you've got millions of people displaced who are reliant on some kind of humanitarian aid.

It's not just, you know, Goma City that's suffering at the moment. You have to remember that before this latest conflict around Goma flared up... The whole region was suffering with immense amounts of problems, largely brought on by the presence of so many dozens of groups. So you've got millions of people displaced who are reliant on some kind of humanitarian aid.

And there are health volunteers who are working. But the problem is with the airport shut at Goma, that's kind of really putting the brakes on some of the humanitarian work that needs to go on. So... the humanitarian coordinator in the DR Congo. He basically described Goma as a lifeline and said it's incredibly important that it opens immediately.

And there are health volunteers who are working. But the problem is with the airport shut at Goma, that's kind of really putting the brakes on some of the humanitarian work that needs to go on. So... the humanitarian coordinator in the DR Congo. He basically described Goma as a lifeline and said it's incredibly important that it opens immediately.

And he talked about the survival of thousands of people depending on the reopening of this airport.

And he talked about the survival of thousands of people depending on the reopening of this airport.

Yeah, it's difficult to be certain what brought it about. I mean, we're expecting there to be talks at the weekend between Congo and Rwanda, or at least regional talks, of which we hope that the presidents of those two countries are present. So it's possible that the M23 have declared this ceasefire in order to go to those talks with some kind of goodwill.

Yeah, it's difficult to be certain what brought it about. I mean, we're expecting there to be talks at the weekend between Congo and Rwanda, or at least regional talks, of which we hope that the presidents of those two countries are present. So it's possible that the M23 have declared this ceasefire in order to go to those talks with some kind of goodwill.

We haven't seen a dramatic kind of change on the ground, partly because it had been relatively calm for a few days after the Goma was seized and then an attempt to move into South Kivu province seemed to stall.

We haven't seen a dramatic kind of change on the ground, partly because it had been relatively calm for a few days after the Goma was seized and then an attempt to move into South Kivu province seemed to stall.

So we haven't seen a dramatic change with the declaration of the ceasefire, but there's a huge amount of mistrust between the Congolese government and the Rwandan government and the M23 rebel group. So at the moment... It's kind of everything is pinning on some effort at peace talk, some dialogue restarting.

So we haven't seen a dramatic change with the declaration of the ceasefire, but there's a huge amount of mistrust between the Congolese government and the Rwandan government and the M23 rebel group. So at the moment... It's kind of everything is pinning on some effort at peace talk, some dialogue restarting.

But we have to remember that, you know, in just over the last year or so, we've had numerous ceasefires that were agreed that quickly broke down. And at the moment, the M23 does hold quite a lot of territory that it's captured in recent weeks. So it can kind of easily say, right, let's have a ceasefire and it stays put. And it's made it clear that it will fight to defend the areas it controls.

But we have to remember that, you know, in just over the last year or so, we've had numerous ceasefires that were agreed that quickly broke down. And at the moment, the M23 does hold quite a lot of territory that it's captured in recent weeks. So it can kind of easily say, right, let's have a ceasefire and it stays put. And it's made it clear that it will fight to defend the areas it controls.

Throughout January, the M23 advance has been rapid, perhaps deliberately timed to take advantage of when the world was distracted by politics in America and conflict in the Middle East. By the time the UN Security Council rang the alarm bell, the Rwandan-backed rebels were already knocking at the door of Goma.

Throughout January, the M23 advance has been rapid, perhaps deliberately timed to take advantage of when the world was distracted by politics in America and conflict in the Middle East. By the time the UN Security Council rang the alarm bell, the Rwandan-backed rebels were already knocking at the door of Goma.