The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Wednesday, Netanyahu said in a statement, amid the Gaza ceasefire and a regional diplomatic push.

Bodies are lying on the streets. Medical staff in overwhelmed hospitals are treating hundreds of wounded civilians against the backdrop of gunfire and mortar fire.

A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

M23 rebels claim they now control the Congolese city of Goma—an act Congo's government described as a 'declaration of war.'

President Paul Kagame said Rwanda was ready for "confrontation" as he rejected criticism over his backing for M23 rebels who were pushing south on Thursday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing the major city of Goma.

M23 rebels captured the key city of Goma in the eastern DRC Monday, forcing thousands of civilians to flee in the latest in a series of advances - Anadolu Ajansı

The rebel leader whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, said their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi's government.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who chairs the East African Community, announced that he had convened an Extraordinary Summit mid-week to discuss the security crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

HARARE, January 30. /TASS/. More than a thousand people were admitted to hospitals in the city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid battles between the republic’s armed forces and members of the Rwandan-backed M23 movement on January 23-28, the Actualit· news portal reported.

South Africa often uses its diplomatic heft to position itself as defender of the "global south" on the world stage, but the deaths of 13 of its soldiers in eastern Congo fighting have exposed an inability to project hard power in its own backyard.