The security situation in the city of Goma is deteriorating, and journalists can no longer report, the media has been forced into silence, there is no stable access to electricity or the internet. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is urgently alerting the international community to this crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and calling on the parties involved in conflict to respect and protect the public’s right to information.

No fewer than 100 people have been killed in clashes between the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 fighters supported by Rwandan soldiers. DAILY POST gathered that at least 1,000 wounded in the fighting have also flooded the hospitals in the capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu province.

Residents of the besieged city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, say they are gripped by fear as gunshots continue to ring out around their homes, days after rebel forces claimed they had taken over.

The ICRC has treated more than 600 wounded and injured people since the start of January, of which around half were civilians. A large number of these civilians were women and children.

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

An influx of wounded people is arriving at Kyeshero hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). MSF teams in the hospital are treating people through the armed clashes and insecurity that have hit the city in recent days.

Shifting calculations by sponsors of the M23 rebel group risk triggering another war in the Great Lakes Region, underscoring importance of African mediators and global partners acting quickly to stem the fighting.

M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo were reported to have taken the key eastern city of Goma in fierce fighting with government forces that sent streams of refugees fleeing area communities.

Internally displaced civilians from the camps in Munigi and Kibati, carry their belongings as they flee following the fight between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, January 26, 2025.

“The Secretary-General has called for all parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian law. This must be upheld to prevent further suffering,” a UNHCR representative said. Image Credit:

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.