Renewed fighting between the M23 armed group and pro-government forces in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has pushed thousands more people into Goma, the largest city in the east and a humanitarian aid hub that is now encircled by the Rwanda-backed rebels.
Goma's previous population was around 1.5 million, but an additional 700,000 people have arrived during the past two years of conflict, including more than 200,000 [7] that have come in recent weeks as the M23 expands its control over an unprecedented [8] amount of territory.
Displaced people, local and international humanitarian workers, and Goma residents all describe a city buckling under huge strain, with overwhelmed displacement camps, food prices rising sharply, and the fear of an M23 takeover looming large.
— Arlette Bashizi and Fidèle Kitsa for The New Humanitarian [9], April 4 (excerpt)
See our last reports on the M23 insurgency [10].
