Residents in eastern Congo's largest city, Goma, woke up on Monday morning uncertain about who is in control of the city, which Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured.

The conflict comes amid rising global tensions after Donald Trump’s election, especially between Washington and Beijing, over control of strategic minerals like those present in the Congo.

Kigali’s support of former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila could complicate peace talks, while Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, is under siege by the M23.

Just over three years after the resurgence of the M23 in eastern DR Congo, the rebel group's war with a government coalition saw its biggest escalation on Sunday, January 26, when the rebels entered Goma,

People flee the intensifying fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo region of North Kivu, as the M23, a Rwanda-backed anti-government armed group, almost completely encircles the capital of North Kivu.

Since neighboring Rwanda’s Tutsi genocide, eastern DR Congo has faced relentless war. Beyond security concerns, Kigali profits immensely from exploiting the region’s vast mineral wealth, fueling ongoing conflict and instability.

Kinshasa recalls diplomats from Kigali as conflict escalates between government forces, M23 rebels - Anadolu Ajansı

The Romanian soldiers were contracted by the Democratic Republic of Congo in a bid to stop the rebel advance. View on euronews

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for a urgent cease-fire in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo saying Washington was "deeply troubled" by a recent escalation in the fighting.

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has called on Rwanda to halt its support for the M23 rebel group and immediately withdraw its troops from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North-Kivu province has died from injuries sustained on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma