The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s regional and international partners must exert pressure on all parties to the conflict in the east of the country

Weapon-toting Congolese soldiers arrived Monday in Bukavu, fleeing Goma on the other side of Lake Kivu by boat after M23 fighters and Rwandan forces entered the main city in DR Congo’s volatile east.

In recent weeks, the armed conflict 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.

Press Release - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s regional and international partners must put pressure on all parties to the conflict in the east of the country -- including the Rwandan-backed M23 fighters,

The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade.

In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.

Civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are at increasing risk as the abusive M23 armed group, supported by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), approaches Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

Aim-listed Rome Resources has advised that its on-site activities, including drilling on the Mont Agoma and Kalayi base metal projects, in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), remain unaffected by conflicts developing in the nearby city of Goma.

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.

Uganda could also witness an unusual re-formation of an African state on its border. If the DRC were to be deprived of all its eastern provinces, it would lose two of the lakes it currently shares with Uganda (Lake Albert and Lake Edward), and the biggest prize of them all, Lake Kivu, which it shares with Rwanda.

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.