The News
Rwandan-backed rebels claimed control of a key city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a major advance in a days-long offensive.
The latest battles represent a significant escalation in a protracted conflict in the country’s mineral-rich east, which has resulted in a humanitarian crisis: 7 million people have been internally displaced and a further 1 million forced to seek international asylum, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
Rwanda denies any official ties to the M23 rebels, who announced Monday they had captured the city of Goma, but UN experts say Kigali has provided significant backing.
The UN Security Council called for the rebel offensive to end, but “talk is cheap,” one expert wrote in the Financial Times, noting that Western powers criticized Kigali even as they offered financial support to Rwanda to address migration and security issues.