At least 700 dead in intense fighting in eastern Congo, UN reports

Intense fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resulted in the deaths of at least 700 people since January 26, the United Nations confirmed.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric stated that 2,800 individuals have been injured as M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, captured Goma, the largest city in North Kivu province. The rebels are now reportedly advancing south toward Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The conflict in the region, which has been ongoing since the 1990s, has escalated rapidly in recent weeks. The M23, an ethnic Tutsi militia, claims they are fighting for the rights of the minority Tutsi population. However, the government of DRC accuses the Rwanda-backed rebels of attempting to seize control of the region’s rich mineral resources.

The casualty figures, which include those killed and wounded from Sunday to Thursday, were compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners in collaboration with the DRC government. Dujarric warned that the death toll could rise further as the situation develops.

In an attempt to halt the M23's advance, the DRC military has established a defensive line along the road connecting Goma to Bukavu. Hundreds of civilian volunteers have also joined the effort to defend Bukavu. "I am ready to die for my country," one young volunteer told AFP.

Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, the governor of South Kivu, stated that the government forces and their allies were managing to hold back the M23 rebels, though this claim has not been independently verified. Earlier in the week, M23 vowed to continue its offensive until they reached Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, located some 2,600 km (1,600 miles) to the west.

In response to the crisis, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, DRC's foreign minister, accused Rwanda of illegally occupying DRC and attempting to orchestrate regime change. "Rwanda was illegally occupying her country and attempting to orchestrate regime change," Wagner said, adding that the international community had allowed Rwandan President Paul Kagame to operate with impunity and failed to hold him accountable for violations of international law.

Rwanda's government spokeswoman, Yolande Makolo, denied the allegations, stating that Rwanda’s troops were only deployed to prevent the conflict from spilling over into its own territory. "We're not interested in war, we're not interested in annexation, we're not interested in regime change," Makolo told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

UN experts had previously estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops were operating alongside M23 forces in eastern DRC.

The recent fighting has also intensified the ongoing humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC. Shelley Thakral, spokesperson for the UN’s World Food Programme, noted that residents in Goma were running out of food, clean water, and medical supplies. "The supply chain has really been strangled at the moment if you think about land access, air access, when everything is closed down," she said.

Since the beginning of 2025, more than 400,000 people have been displaced by the violence, according to the UN Refugee Agency. The DRC, Africa’s second-largest country, borders nine countries and has been plagued by conflicts that have often drawn in its neighbors, earning the title of “Africa’s World Wars” during the 1990s.

The current situation remains dire, with hopes for peace contingent on continued regional and international efforts to address the underlying causes of the conflict.

By Vafa Guliyeva