Fighting between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) army and M23 rebels continues to stir in the country’s eastern city of Goma.
The Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 marched into the city on Monday in what is being reported as the largest escalation of conflict since 2012.
The region has a long history of conflict spanning more than 30 years, most of which is rooted in the fallout from the Rwandan genocide and the struggle for control of Congo's mineral resources.
Goma is the capital of the North Kivu province and a humanitarian hub for people displaced by conflict in other parts of the country.
As a result of M23’s presence in the city, thousands of civilians have fled the city, with at least 100 people reported killed and another 1000 wounded in just 3 days.
The Guardian has reported that the United Nations (UN) said on Tuesday, that heavy fighting which has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the province has overwhelmed local hospitals with a number of patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has described the situation as “tense and fluid”.
"There are real risks of breakdown of law and order in the city, given the proliferation of weapons,” he said at a briefing.
M23 is the latest in a string of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgencies that the DRC, the UN, the US and other countries claim is supported by Rwanda.
The militia group claims it seeks to protect the interests of the Congolese Tutsi and other minorities.
The group is one of more than 100 armed groups fighting to make territorial gains in DRC’s mineral-rich east.
DRC is the world’s biggest producer of tantalum and cobalt, two critical minerals used for making batteries, smartphones and EV components.
In 2024 it was reported that M23 captured Rubaya, a key mining town for Coltan which is used in the manufacture of mobile phones and laptops.
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