Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped, the Associated Press reported.

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.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels faced pockets of resistance from army and pro-government militia overnight after entering eastern Congo's largest city Goma in the worst escalation of a conflict that has run for more than a decade.

Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebel group has gained control of the airport in the eastern city of Goma, diplomatic and security sources told Reuters.

MONUSCO is storing voluntarily relinquished or abandoned weapons in accordance with international standards,' says Vivian van de Perre - Anadolu Ajansı

A rebel alliance spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia said it had seized the lakeside city of more than 2 million people.

The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink

If this council does not condemn, this will go down in history as a time of powerlessness and indifference of the Security Council,' says country’s foreign minister - Anadolu Ajansı

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has confirmed the passing away of three of its members following a mortar bomb attack by the M23 rebel militia near Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday.

Fierce fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced more than half a million people, the country's foreign minister told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. More than 500,

At the weekend, nine SANDF members were killed in a fierce clash with the M23 rebels group in Goma, eastern DRC. The post The number of SANDF soldiers killed by M23 in DRC increases appeared first on SA People.