DR Congo conflict advances as U.N. warns of regional escalation

Rwanda-backed M23 armed group threatens key town in DRC, raising regional violence risk, UN warns.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group was threatening another key town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday (February 7, 2025) as the United Nations warned that the risk of violence spreading regionally had “never been higher”.

M23 and Rwandan troops seized the city of Goma last week and are now pushing into the neighbouring South Kivu province.

Thousands have died and huge numbers displaced as they have overtaken swathes of the mineral-rich region, routing DRC troops and their allies in the latest episode of decades-long turmoil in eastern DRC.

Congolese forces were bracing for an assault on the town of Kavumu, which hosts an airport critical to supplying its troops, according to security, humanitarian and local sources.

Kavumu is the last barrier before the South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu on the Rwandan border, where residents were also on edge.

“We see some people starting to flee,” resident Aganze Byamungu told AFP. A local who spoke on condition of anonymity said shops were barricading their fronts and emptying storerooms for fear of looting, while schools and universities suspended classes.

“The border with Rwanda is open but almost impassable because of the number of people trying to cross. It’s total chaos,” they added.