On 20 November 2012, 23 March Movement seized the provincial capital of Goma after the national army retreated. MONUSCO troops observed without intervening, as their mandate only allowed them to protect civilians. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called the situation "absurd", noting MONUSCO's greatly superior numbers, and called for the group's mandate to be revised. UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey said peacekeepers "cannot substitute" for the Congo national army, adding that the 1,500 UN troops in Goma held their fire because they did not want to risk civilian lives.