Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) risks spilling over into a regional war, it is feared, as Rwanda-backed rebels claim to have captured the key city of Goma.
The leader of a rebel alliance that includes the M23 group said fighters have taken the city, after making significant territorial gains in recent weeks.
Hundreds of people are being wounded every day as fighting in the central African country continues, worsening the humanitarian crisis there.
There is also an international element to the decades-long situation, with UN peacekeepers killed in the conflict and Rwandan troops accused of fighting alongside the rebels.
Sky News’ Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir says the situation is “extremely volatile” and there are fears of a Rwandan “invasion”.
Who are the M23 rebels and what do they want?
The name M23 refers to a March 23, 2009 accord which ended a previous revolt in eastern DRC led by ethnic Tutsis.
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M23 has accused the DRC government of not living up to that peace deal and fully integrating Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.
It is mostly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the army and launched its current rebellion in 2022.
It has vowed to defend Tutsi interests, particularly against ethnic Hutu militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which was founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
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However critics have claimed it’s a pretext for Rwanda to obtain economic and political influence over eastern DRC.
M23 controls territory in the east of the country, including the mining region of Rubaya which has rich deposits of coltan, a mineral used in the production of smartphones. It’s estimated M23 gets $800,000 (£640,000) a month through a production tax on the region, the UN says.
How is Rwanda involved?
Rwanda, which borders the M23-controlled region of the DRC, has been accused of supporting the group and there have been increasing fears that its actions are essentially an “invasion”.
UN experts say Rwanda has thousands of troops in the region which have been operating alongside the rebels in a violation of the DRC’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In a report for the UN Security Council, the panel of experts said Rwandan forces’ “de facto control and direction over M23 operations” renders Rwanda “liable for the actions of M23”.
On Sunday, the UN’s special representative in the DRC said that M23 and Rwandan forces had entered the outskirts of the city of Goma, which rebels have subsequently claimed to have captured.
The DRC has now severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda. A “declaration of war” by the DRC against Rwanda would risk turning “into a regional conflict in East Africa”, according to Darren Davids, an analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
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Why is Goma important?
A city home to around two million people, Goma is a key regional hub for trade, security and humanitarian efforts.
Since 2021, DRC forces have been supported by troops from neighbouring Burundi as well as UN peacekeepers in keeping the rebels away from the city.
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M23 briefly controlled Goma in 2012 and it now claims to once again be in control.
Its fall to the rebels would also have a “catastrophic impact on hundreds of thousands of civilians, putting them at risk of heightened exposure to human rights violations and abuses”, said Ravina Shamdasani from the UN’s human rights office.
