Kinshasa, DRC | THE INDEPENDENT | Assessments conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations (UN), and partner organizations have reported that 700 people were killed during the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels’ insurgency in Goma City,

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday 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.

Fighting across the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and "is still very much ongoing ... it's not over yet," senior U.N. official in Congo, Bruno Lemarquis, said on Monday after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels claimed to have control of Goma.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, early Monday, as the United Nations described a “mass panic” among its 2 million people and Congo’s government said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war.

Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebels are moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, in what appears to be an attempt to expand their area of control in the country's east after capturing the city of Goma.

Rwanda-backed rebels captured large parts of Goma, the biggest city in eastern Congo, including its airport, the United Nations said, as Rwanda's president on Wednesday joined calls for a ceasefire in the decadeslong conflict amid mounting international pressure.

Rebels backed by Rwanda captured more towns in eastern Congo as fighters moved beyond the key city of Goma in an apparent attempt to expand their control in the conflict-battered region

By Yassin Kombi and Sonia Rolley GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rwandan-backed rebels strengthened their control over east Congo's largest city, Goma, on Wednesday as columns of Romanian mercenaries hired to fight for Congo entered Rwanda under tight supervision by Rwandan security forces.