The bloody conflict in the eastern DRC took a dramatic turn this week when Kigali-backed fighters from the M23 claimed to take control of Goma in North Kivu province before advanc

Congolese troops with support from Burundi's army appeared on Friday to be holding back a push south by Rwandan-backed rebels seeking to expand their grip on eastern Congo in a weeks-old advance that has raised fears of a broader regional conflict.

"In Bukavu, foreigners are fleeing," missionaries from the capital of the Congolese province of South Kivu tell Fides. "The various embassies in Kinshasa have ordered their compatriots to leave the city because they fear that the M23 rebels could conquer it after taking control of Goma and the province of North Kivu,

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces.

In recent weeks, the armed conflict in the DRC between the M23/AFC and the Congolese army, backed by their allies, has flared up again in the province of North Kivu and spread to the neighbouring province of South Kivu.

Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that all Indians in the Democratic Republic of Congo are safe amid the ongoing conflict. Jaiswal while addressing a press briefing said that the Indian embassy in Kinshasa is in constant touch with the Indians there.

The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is "not just a regional concern but a global responsibility," a UN spokesperson said Tuesday.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has not known peace, stability and sanity, sustainable economic and socio-political development for long periods of time. There is always a fertile and breeding ground for conflict between its ethnic groups.

Local sources said Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province, after the rebel group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

Kenyan President William Ruto, the East African Community (EAC) chair, convened a virtual summit on 29 January to discuss the worsening security situation – which Tshisekedi skipped. In his absence, the summit “strongly urged” him to engage directly in talks with the M23.