Panic spread in Goma on Thursday, with M23 rebels steadily inching closer to the city in eastern Congo as they battle the Congolese army. Bombs were heard going off in the distant outskirts and hundreds of wounded civilians were brought in to the main hospital from nearby towns and villages.
Luggage on their backs, they trudged all Wednesday morning along the road leading to downtown Goma, fleeing the advancing fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The army acknowledged Tuesday a "breakthrough" by the M23 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where the armed group fighting government forces has seized a trading hub that supplies the city of Goma.
The M23 rebel group’s had advanced quickly toward Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, in recent weeks, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Fierce fighting happened on Thursday as belligerents used light and heavy weapons. Located about 27 kilometres North west of Goma city, Sake is the last barrier to the biggest town (Goma) of North Kivu province.
A hospital in Goma has taken in more than 200 wounded since early January as fighting intensifies in the eastern North Kivu province between government forces and M23 rebels, the Red Cross and local sources told AFP Monday.
Amid an uptick in fighting, the United Nations says more than 237,000 people have been forced from their homes in the eastern DRC since the start of the year.
With babies in tow and mattresses over their heads, thousands of displaced people reached the outskirts of the eastern city of Goma, after fleeing M23 rebels who seized the town of Minova this week.
Panic is spreading in Goma in eastern Congo as M23 rebels encircle the city, battling Congo’s army. Many civilians have been wounded in the crossfire, stretching the main hospital.
Panic is spreading in Goma in eastern Congo as the M23 rebels are steadily encircling the city as the insurgent group battles Congo's army.
Displaced Congolese make their way along the road leading to the centre of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group continues to gain ground.