Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), told a briefing in Geneva colleagues had reported “heavy small arms fire and mortar fire across the city and the presence of many dead bodies in the streets”.

Kenya has announced a virtual crisis summit, but Congolese state media says President Felix Tshisekedi will not attend.

The war for Goma was the most recent episode of combat in eastern DRC, a volatile region plagued by regional rivalries, ethnic tensions, and armed group battles for more than three decades

President William Ruto, in his role as chair of the East African Community (EAC), has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid the worsening conflict.

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.

Amid tragic escalation of violence in Congo, Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Goma has assured the people of the church's closeness and compassion, as rebels entered the eastern city of Goma, forcing thousands to flee and triggering wave of looting and deaths.

In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.

Jambojet, Kenya's budget airline, has suspended flights between Nairobi and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), due to escalating conflict and the closure of Goma's airspace.

The capture of the city has cut off the supply of goods to North Kivu, an emerging market for East African Community (EAC) member states.

Gunfire broke out on Sunday night in the centre of the besieged Congolese city Goma after the Democratic Republic of Congo accused neighbouring Rwanda of sending more troops across the

A rebel alliance spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia said it had seized the lakeside city of more than 2 million people.