Rebels move deeper into eastern DR Congo as UN says hundreds killed

The UN also expressed concerns over executions it learned were carried out by the rebels which came after a major escalation of their years-long rebellion in the mineral-rich region.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the World Health Organisation and its partners conducted an assessment with DR Congo’s government between Jan. 26-30 “and report that 700 people have been killed and 2,800 injured” in Goma and the vicinity.

“These numbers are expected to rise as more information becomes available,” he said.

The rebels were now about 60 kilometres from South Kivu's provincial capital of Buakavu and “seem to be moving quite fast,” U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said at a press briefing on Friday. M23 has captured several towns after seizing neighbouring Goma, a humanitarian hub critical for many of the six million people displaced by the conflict.

The central African nation’s military has been weakened after it lost hundreds of personnel and foreign mercenaries surrendered to the rebels after the fall of Goma.

Goma's capture has brought humanitarian operations to “a standstill, cutting off a vital lifeline for aid delivery across eastern (DR Congo)," said Rose Tchwenko, country director for Mercy Corps aid group in DR Congo. “The escalation of violence toward Bukavu raises fears of even greater displacement, while the breakdown of humanitarian access is leaving entire communities stranded without support."

The Southern African regional bloc, of which DR Congo is a member, resolved on Friday to maintain its peacekeeping force deployed in eastern DR Congo in 2023. The group's chairman, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, called for “bold” and "decisive steps” to boost the force’s capacity. At their meeting in