The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Congo's major city of Goma have targeted relatives of fleeing Congolese soldiers, the families say, with the troops' wives chased from military barracks and left stranded in the city while some of their children are allegedly being forced to join the rebellion.

The Congolese army called on deserters to rejoin their units on Thursday, as rogue soldiers fired guns and looted parts of the eastern town of Lubero after fleeing nearby clashes with advancing Rwandan-backed rebels.

Mu itangazo, Human Rights Watch ivuga ko abaturage babarirwa mu bihumbi bahatiwe n'umutwe wa M23 kuva mu nkambi bari bahungiyemo kandi bakorewe ibyaha by'ubugome

Internally displaced people (IDPs) near eastern city of Goma board pirogues on Lake Kivu after leaving the nearby Bulengo IDP camp. They were fleeing renewed fighting between the DRC army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels n the area.

The DRC illustrates how millions of people in fragile, violent and conflict-affected parts of the world are at risk of disaster.

Aid groups in Goma say their response to the city’s capture by M23 rebels and Rwandan troops late last month is being hampered by insecurity and funding cuts, as uncertainty also grows around how they will work under a new rebel administration.

Amategeko mpuzamakungu agenga n'imigwi igwanira mu buseruko bwa Congo, arabuza ko abasivire birukanwa aho bari kiretse ari ku mpamvu y'umutekano wabo canke za gisirikare.

The crucial ferries were suspended for several days due to fierce fighting between the army and M23 rebels in the region.

Dozens of mpox patients being treated in hospital isolation units in Goma have fled for their lives as violence engulfs the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the WHO said Friday.

Idengo was renowned for his politically charged songs that criticized both the government and rebels. His latest track, Bunduki (Swahili for “weapon”), condemned the rebel occupation of Goma.

People who were displaced by the fighting between M23 rebels and government soldiers prepare to leave their camp following an instruction by M23 rebels in Goma

The M23 armed group is advancing on strategic zones in the eastern DRC after taking two key cities, Goma and Bukavu, according to the United Nations on Wednesday. U.N. Security Council members met on Wednesday in hopes of averting the widening of conflict into a regional war.