The M23 armed group has seized further territory in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and on Thursday was continuing to tighten its grip on provincial capital Goma, which is almost surrounded by fighting.

The United Nations warned that conflict in the region has reached alarming new levels.

People fleeing renewed fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo disembarked from overcrowded boats in Goma on Wednesday, seeking refuge after M23 rebels seized a main supply route for the provincial capital.

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga is currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) calling on South African soldiers at the same time as the United Nations (UN) has it the security situation in the country’s east is “deteriorating”.

Tutsi-led M23 rebel group claims to defend Tutsi interests against ethnic Hutu militias whose leaders are linked to genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda - Anadolu Ajansı

Swelling violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced some 237,000 people since the start of the year, the United Nations said Friday. The agency has said it needs $226 million to provide aid in DR Congo this year.

The M23 rebel group is advancing toward eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma. The United Nations says this has displaced over 178,000 people in the past two weeks.

Panic is spreading in Goma in eastern Congo as M23 rebels encircle the city, battling Congo’s army. Many civilians have been wounded in the crossfire, stretching the main hospital.

The M23 rebel group in Democratic Republic of Congo has seized the eastern town of Minova, a main supply route for the provincial capital Goma, a local governor and a rebel leader said on Tuesday as the army reported fighting on all fronts.

The last two towns before Goma, a provincial capital in Congo’s east, have just fallen to M23 rebels. They last captured the city in 2012.

A bout 120,000 children have been forced from their homes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the start of the year as a wave of horrifying violence hits villages [1] with some children becoming separated from their parents and one town cut off, said Save the Children.

An investigating magistrate has been appointed in Belgium after Democratic Republic of the Congo in December filed criminal complaints accusing Apple subsidiaries of using so-called conflict minerals in their supply chain,