What you need to know about the unfolding crisis in DRC

Armed men travel in a pickup truck, devoid of any insignia or markings, as they drive through a street in Goma on January 28, 2025. Gunshots rang out through parts of the besieged DR Congo city of Goma on January 28, 2025, as Congolese soldiers clashed with militia fighters backed by Rwandan troops ahead of a UN Security Council meeting. [AFP]

On January 27th, the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) rebel group announced that its forces would occupy the city of Goma following the expiry of its 25 January ultimatum to members of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) to surrender their weapons and military equipment to the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Since then, there have been reports of M23 forces marching into Goma and the group has declared that the city has fallen. Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes with dozens reported dead and hundreds injured. The UN reports that fighting is still ongoing in various parts of the city and the situation remains volatile. The major actors are as below.