Press Release - In recent weeks, the armed conflict between the M23/AFC and the Congolese army, backed by their allies, has flared up again in the province of North Kivu and spread to the neighbouring province of South Kivu.

On Sunday, January 26, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be held, the newspaper Le Monde reports.

The eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo is prey to various and varied conflicts, particularly the M23 war with identity crisis implications in North Kivu; the catastrophic campaign to uproot the Tutsi Banyamulenge in South Kivu;

Essential UN personnel are remaining on the ground, sustaining critical operations such as food distribution, medical assistance, shelter, and protection for vulnerable communities,” MONUSCO said.

The UN Security Council will convene an emergency meeting on Sunday over deadly clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, after Kinshasa withdrew its diplomats from Kigali as Rwanda-backed rebe

In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, António Guterres noted the Rwandan-backed rebels’ reported seizure of Sake, in South Kivu, “which increases the threat” to the regional capital Goma – all of which is “ heightening the threat of a regional war ”. Rwanda denies any direct involvement with M23 fighters.

Congo has severed all diplomatic ties with Rwanda and South Africa said on Saturday that nine of its peacekeepers had been killed amid a surge in fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

The insecurity has deepened a dire humanitarian situation with 400,000 more people forced to flee their homes this year, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

Authorities in eastern Congo say M23 rebels have seized the town of Minova, a key supply route for the provincial capital, Goma.

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa), Jan 26 (Bernama-AA) - The United Nations (UN) said on Saturday that it is temporarily relocating non-essential staff from Goma in eastern Congo because of the deteriorating security situation in North Kivu province, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Intensifying hostilities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo involving the non-state armed group M23 have caused further mass displacement in the mineral-rich region, with fears that the regional capital Goma could come under attack, UN agencies warned on Friday.