Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped.

Bodies are lying on the streets. Medical staff in overwhelmed hospitals are treating hundreds of wounded civilians against the backdrop of gunfire and mortar fire.

The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.

By Yassin Kombi and Sonia Rolley GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -The United States told Rwanda it was "deeply troubled" by the fall of Goma in eastern Congo to Rwandan-backed M23 rebels,

The Rwandan defence ministry has confirmed the surrender and evacuation of Romanian mercenaries from the private military company Congo Protection, an ally of the Congolese army since the end of 2022.

Bishop of Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Willy says he is dismayed at the scale of violence in his diocese as M23 rebels advanced into the town.

MSF teams are treating an influx of wounded people arriving at Kyeshero hospital in Goma, DRC, following the armed clashes and insecurity that have hit the city in recent days

After a lightning offensive, M23 rebels now control Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

In 2012, when M23 rebels appeared poised to seize control of a major city in eastern Congo, western countries suspended aid to put pressure on Rwanda to withdraw its support.

The rebel leader whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, said their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi's government.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a rebel alliance that has besieged swaths of the nation’s mineral-rich east and forced hundreds of local troops and foreign mercenaries to surrender.