Congo: thousands flee advance of M23 rebels near key city of Goma

With fighting between the Congolese army and M23 rebels moving closer to the key city of Goma, thousands of people have been displaced, plunging this volatile eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into a looming humanitarian crisis.
Clashes picked up again in the country’s North Kivu province last week, ending about a week of relative calm since the group launched their latest offensive on 20 October. Battles have broken out around several villages around the regional capital of Goma, army spokesman Guillaume Ndjike has said. “They are attacking but we are containing them and taking initiatives to push them back,” Ndjike told the media. But according to local residents, the army had allegedly left and that people were fleeing en masse. Others have said that Congolese government forces initially repelled M23’s attack on the town of Kibumba after more than a day of heavy fighting.
That has come against the backdrop of a looming humanitarian crisis, as displaced people sleep in makeshift camps in the area and complain about having little food for now. According to community leaders on the other side of the front line, about 60,000 people are reportedly stuck behind the front line in the territory held by the M23 rebel group and there is an urgent need for the creation of a humanitarian corridor so they can leave that area before the fighting gets closer to them. At least 188,000 have been displaced in North Kivu since 20 October, according to the United Nations.