The Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reportedly advanced into the region's second largest city, Bukavu, after capturing the key town of Goma in January. The advance is causing chaos and panic among residents. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of displaced women, men and children in Goma, with nowhere to go, are being driven from their homes by the M23.
According to the United Nations, large numbers of people are fleeing combat zones in South Kivu province. On Saturday, media outlets reported that the M23 had captured the airport in Kavumu while advancing toward the center of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province and normally a town of about 1.3 million people.
According to local aid agencies, many people had sought safety in Bukavu in recent days as fighting moved through South Kivu toward the town. They also said the M23 was already present in the South Kivu capital.
The rapid advance of M23 forces, with the stated aim of capturing key strategic locations such as Kavumu airport and Bukavu city, has caused widespread concern among the local population. Many residents of Bukavu fear further escalation and potential threats to their safety. Many are already fleeing to the south or abroad, if they have the means to do so.
According to humanitarian agencies, armed clashes in Bukavu would have a more serious impact on civilians than in Goma due to the different geographical, demographic and security circumstances.
In early January, the M23 broke a ceasefire agreement signed last July between DRC and neighboring Rwanda and launched a major offensive along the eastern edge of DR Congo with the support of the Rwandan army.
The DRC government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group and that Rwandan troops are fighting alongside the M23, a claim denied by Rwanda but backed by UN experts. Large numbers of Rwandan troops have crossed the border to reinforce the M23 offensive, raising fears of a full-scale war between the two East African neighbors.
On Saturday, the African continent's leaders, meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, a cessation of hostilities and the reopening of key supply routes and Goma airport.
“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congolese people have been suffering – yet again – from a brutal cycle of violence,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the annual African Union (AU) summit, which continues through Sunday.
“And the fighting that is raging in South Kivu – as a result of the continuation of the M23 offensive -- threatens to push the entire region over the precipice.”
Guterres said a regional escalation must be avoided at all costs.
“There is no military solution. The deadlock must end – the dialogue must begin. And the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected,” he added.
Meanwhile, in North Kivu, unexploded ordnance remains a major threat in Goma and other areas of the province. Displaced people report that fear of unexploded munitions and bombs, destroyed homes and lack of basic services are major obstacles to safe return.
Humanitarian organizations report that many displaced people are still on the move in and around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Several displacement sites have been vandalized and looted in recent days, and some aid agencies have relocated supplies to avoid further looting.
“We continue our assessments in and around the town of Goma, including in the towns of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo where large numbers of people have arrived in search of safety. In Nyiragongo, humanitarian partners report that schools are only minimally functioning, hospitals have experienced extensive vandalism, and there is no water,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Friday.
Many humanitarian operations in Goma and North Kivu remain suspended due to insecurity. The M23 rebels captured the key city of Goma on January 27, home to more than 3 million people, including nearly 1 million displaced from other conflict areas. More than 1.5 million of these are estimated to be children.
While declaring a unilateral ceasefire in Goma, the M23 rebels launched a new offensive on Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu. Thousands have been killed in fighting between the M23 and the Congolese army for control of Goma, where the crisis for internally displaced people (IDPs) is worsening, according to the United Nations and human rights groups.
On Friday, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said it was alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the DR Congo, as the continued lack of access to displaced people hampered the delivery of urgently needed aid.
“Heavy artillery shelling and looting have destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova in North and South Kivu provinces, leaving some 350,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) once again without roofs over their heads,” UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun told reporters in Geneva.
“Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are now in overcrowded makeshift shelters, churches, schools and hospitals. The displaced in Goma are also affected by the increase in crime.”
While some 100,000 had attempted to return to their home areas, where houses had been damaged and there were few or no essential services, many remained stranded in collective centers, damaged IDP sites or with host communities.
“Displaced people reported that fear of unexploded ordnance, destroyed homes and lack of essential services are significant obstacles to safe return,” Byun said.
“The crisis is worsening as people flee to areas where humanitarian aid cannot reach them due to insecurity. “
Byun stressed that UNHCR teams in both North and South Kivu continue to assist the displaced as much as possible. They had seen families once again packing their few remaining belongings, trapped by insecurity, unable to stay but with no safe place to go.
UNHCR called for an immediate cessation of hostilities to ensure the safety of civilians, including displaced persons, and to uphold international humanitarian principles, including the right to move freely in search of safety.
The UN agency also urged all parties to cease attacks on civilian infrastructure and to ensure unhindered humanitarian access.
IDP camps in and around Goma host hundreds of thousands of people who have fled years of violence in eastern Congo, including fighting between Congolese government forces (FARDC) and the Rwandan-backed M23 in the territories of Masisi, Rutshuru and Nyiragongo.
In Goma itself, an estimated 700,000 IDPs are still sheltering in camps. This week, M23 leaders ordered them to leave and return to their homes. The United Nations accuses the armed group of forcibly closing IDP settlements and displacing more than 100,000 people in a matter of days.
Most of the displaced people living in the camps have nowhere to go as their homes have been destroyed. The UN says they are now seeking refuge in areas not controlled by the M23, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
M23 rebel spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka called the allegations "propaganda" and said people were leaving Goma voluntarily.
“Contrary to the propaganda of the Kinshasa regime, amplified by certain biased media outlets, internally displaced persons are voluntarily returning to their now-secured homes in liberated areas,” he claimed.
On Monday, the M23 gave IDPs a 72-hour ultimatum to leave Goma and return to their villages. A day later, M23 rebels began dismantling settlements and forcing displaced people to flee. Residents report being trapped under the control of the M23 rebels, who have cut off much-needed humanitarian aid and closed all roads in and out of Goma, including the Goma International Airport.
The international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that the M23 and Rwandan forces controlling Goma should immediately ensure that civilians, including displaced persons, are not unlawfully removed from their displacement sites and are not denied access to items essential to their survival, including water, food, shelter, and medicine.
“The M23’s order to forcibly remove tens of thousands of displaced people from camps to areas with no support is both cruel and a possible war crime,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Rwanda and other countries with influence over the M23 should press the armed group to immediately change course.”
Even before the recent escalation of armed conflict, the DRC faced one of the world's largest and most underreported humanitarian crises, characterized by widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement.
The DRC has a population of approximately 118 million, with an estimated 21 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, one of the highest numbers in the world. At least 8 million people in the country have been forced to flee their homes. Before the escalation, 4.6 million people were already internally displaced in the two eastern provinces of North and South Kivu.
In both provinces, civilians have been subjected to indiscriminate bombing and sexual violence, while the use of heavy weapons in populated areas has resulted in numerous civilian casualties, including children.
The provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri have been plagued by violence for decades as non-state armed groups seek to gain control of the country's valuable mineral resources. Many of those forced to flee have been displaced several times.
Humanitarian organizations warn that the consequences of the escalating violence are devastating for civilians in Congo's eastern provinces. Armed combatants, lacking access to essential supplies, have increasingly targeted civilians in villages, fields and markets to loot goods and replenish their resources.
Reports continue to emerge of serious human rights violations, including killings, rape, assault, looting, forced labor and forced recruitment.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has expressed deep concern about the escalating violence in eastern DRC and its impact on children and families.
“In North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we have seen in recent years,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, warned on Thursday.
The M23 is the most prominent of more than 130 armed groups reportedly operating in the strategic and resource-rich eastern DRC.
In a related development, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Friday that peacekeepers have stepped up efforts to protect civilians following the latest attacks by the armed group CODECO in Ituri province earlier this week.
The head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, condemned the appalling attack in which more than 80 civilians were killed.