Clashes in Eastern DRC between the DRC army and M23 rebels near Goma have displaced over 400,000 people, prompting fears of a regional war. The UN called for an immediate ceasefire, warning of the devastating toll on civilians and the heightened risk of a wider conflict.
Clashes between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) army and the M23 rebels near Goma have displaced over 400,000 people, raising fears of a regional war, the UN warned. Soldiers of the FARDC rode on top of a tank as they left the city of Goma , on January 23, 2025 towards Sake.
A barren plain surrounded by volcanic peaks and where shelters are rare: in this lunar landscape, the Congolese army is fighting to halt the advance of the M23 towards Goma, a city in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DR Congo army and M23 on Friday clashed near the main city in the country’s volatile east as the UN warned the raging conflict had displaced over 400,000 people this year and could spark a regional war. Since peace talks failed, M23 fighters backed by Rwandan troops have gained swathes of territory in east DRC in recent weeks, triggering a humanitarian crisis and ringing the provincial capital Goma, which is home to a million people. “The number of displacements is now over 400,000 people this year alone, almost double the number reported last week,” Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres was “alarmed by the resumption of hostilities”, his spokesman said in a statement. “This offensive has a devastating toll on the civilian population and heightened the risk of a broader regional war,” the statement added, demanding the violence “immediately cease.” “We are exchanging fire with the enemy on the Kanyamahoro-Kibumba axis, it is violent,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The M23 was also present in the town of Sake on Friday, according to a military source. Sake, about 20 kilometres west of Goma, witnessed intense fighting the previous day. Congolese army helicopters headed towards Sake Friday morning, with explosions heard in western districts of the town, although it was not clear how intense the fighting was. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi is due to hold a defence council meeting during the day, following a crisis meeting on Thursday. The military governor of North Kivu, General Peter Cirimwami, died Friday morning, according to military and UN sources. The Congolese army on Thursday deployed helicopter gunships which fired volleys of rockets towards the frontline in a bid to halt the M23 fighters advancing on Goma. At least a dozen armoured personnel carriers from the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) were seen heading west from Goma. Armoured vehicles from the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC, there to support the Congolese army, were also seen transporting guns towards Sake. Medical teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross treated more than 70 wounded people at the hospital in Goma on Thursday
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