Hundreds attempt to flee the DRC into Rwanda as fighting closes in on Goma

Hundreds of people attempted to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo into Rwanda on Sunday.

Heavy gunfire resonated across the key eastern Congolese city of Goma from the frontline just a few kilometres away.

The M23 rebels have made significant territorial gains along the border with Rwanda in recent weeks, closing in on regional capital.

Early on Monday, the Rwanda-backed group claimed to have captured the city despite calls by the United Nations Security Council of Sunday for it to halt its advance.

Its announcement came minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

The UN says there is “mass panic” among the city’s two million inhabitants.

Displaced person, Muahadi Amani, said he was fleeing because he was concerned for the safety of his children.

“We are at the border [with Rwanda] and I'm going to cross to the other side to see if we can find a safe place because at the moment there is no security in Goma,” he said.

Kinshasha late Saturday severed diplomatic ties with Kigali, which has denied backing the rebels despite evidence collected by UN experts and others.

At least 13 peacekeepers have been killed in the surge of violence over the past week.

Goma is a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts in the eastern DRC.

The M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis, broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.

It is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region.

The M23 rebels' offensive in the heart of the mineral-rich region threatens to dramatically worsen one of Africa's longest wars and further displace civilians.

The long-running conflict has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

Since 2021, Congo’s government and allied forces, including the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) and UN troops, have been keeping the M23 away from Goma.

MONUSCO (UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) entered the DRC more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.