Jan 22 (EFE/EPA) – The NGO Save the Children reported on Wednesday that nearly 120,000 children have been forced to flee their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the beginning of 2025 due to a surge in fighting between the army and rebel groups.

Panic is spreading in Goma in eastern Congo as the M23 rebels are steadily encircling the city as the insurgent group battles Congo’s army.

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.

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.

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.

Luggage on their backs, they trudged all Wednesday morning along the road leading to downtown Goma, fleeing the advancing fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

KINSHASA - The army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday called on citizens to remain calm in the face of recent advances by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the eastern province of North Kivu.

M23 rebels tightened their stranglehold over key trading routes to the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after taking more towns Monday and Tuesday, Congo’s army said.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants is advocating to have pending cases rebooked to arrive in the country before Jan. 27.

Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is a viral disease similar to smallpox that can cause flu-like symptoms and a painful rash. It is most commonly found in central and east Africa, with the chances of catching mpox in the UK classed as “low” by the NHS.

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