Summary

  1. Rwanda-Congo border reportedly closedpublished at 11:05 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    Paul Njie
    BBC News

    Buses line up awaiting the evacuation of non-essential United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Some buses were on standby to evacuate UN staff

    The border between DR Congo and Rwanda has reportedly been closed after the M23 rebels entered Goma.

    A diplomatic source and witnesses told the AFP news agency that no-one was being allowed to get in or go out at the main crossing between the two countries.

    Only non-essential UN staff and their families were allowed to cross as they were being evacuated through Rwanda.

    The Rwandan state broadcaster reported that some buses were on standby to evacuate UN staff and families.

  2. Where is Goma and why is it significant?published at 10:54 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    A map of DR Congo and Rwanda

    Goma is the regional capital of North Kivu and home to more than a million people.

    Sitting on the border with Rwanda and on the shores of Lake Kivu, it is a vital trading and transport hub that is within reach of mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand, such as gold, tin and coltan, a key ingredient in making mobile phones.

    The M23 briefly took over Goma during a rebellion in 2012, but withdrew after a peace deal was brokered.

  3. Thousands flee Goma as fighting escalatespublished at 10:49 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    A man carrying a mattress on his head as he leaves GomaImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Many people have been displaced several times during the DR Congo conflict

    Thousands of people are fleeing Goma as fighting escalates in the city.

    Several sites on the outskirts of the city, sheltering more than 300,000 displaced people, were completely emptied out in the space of a few hours, according to the UN.

    Key roads surrounding Goma are blocked, cutting off vital access points, while the city’s airport is paralysed, halting all evacuation and humanitarian efforts, the UN says.

    The situation is growing more desperate by the hour as aid and escape routes are brought to a standstill.

    Since the start of 2025 more than 400,000 people have been forced from their homes in the provinces of North and South Kivu, near the border with Rwanda, according to the UN's refugee agency.

  4. UN agency halts operations in Gomapublished at 10:41 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    A man carries a bucket and a white sack, emblazoned with the worlds 'World Food Programme'Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Hundreds and thousands of people in North Kivu depend on food assistance

    The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to pause its operations in Goma and the wider North Kivu region, the agency has said.

    In a statement on social media platform X, the WFP said it had made the move due to the "escalation in violence".

    It added that 800,000 people in North Kivu "rely on vital food and nutrition assistance".

    The WFP will restart its operations when the situation is safe for its "communities" and staff, the statement said.

    WFP operations in the rest of DR Congo will continue uninterrupted.

  5. Reports of mass escape from prison in Gomapublished at 10:31 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    There have been reports of a mass escape from a prison in Goma, with some videos being shared online appearing to show prisoners fleeing.

    A security source told the AFP news agency that the prison holding 3,000 inmates was “totally torched” and that the jailbreak had resulted in deaths.

    One of the videos shared online appears to show people running from a building on fire. There are shouts from people and gunshots can be heard.

    There have reports of deaths from the incident.

    Many parts of Goma have been cut off from power and many areas of the city amid the entry of the rebels.

  6. Rebels have taken over much of Goma citypublished at 10:26 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    Will Ross
    Africa editor, BBC World Service

    Many people on a street in Goma fleeing from the fightingImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    The rebel advance has displaced more than 400,000 civilians

    Rwandan-backed rebels have taken over much of the city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, although some gunfire can still be heard.

    There are reports of Congolese and Rwandan troops firing at each other across the border. Columns of M23 rebels have entered the city.

    Some Congolese troops have followed a rebel order to hand over their weapons to UN peacekeepers.

    In less than a month the rebel advance has displaced more than 400,000 civilians.

    On Sunday at a UN Security Council meeting, the Congolese government said Rwanda had declared war by sending its troops over the border.

    The UN chief, António Guterres, called on Rwandan troops to leave Congolese territory.

  7. DR Congo - blighted by conflict for decadespublished at 10:18 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    A Congolese soldier sits down while holding two bladesImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    A Congolese soldier keeps watch in Goma in 1994

    The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dogged by fighting for decades.

    Secessionist movements, as well as ethnic-based rebel groups, have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation.

    Major mining towns in the east supply metals and minerals that are in high demand, such as gold, tin and coltan, which is a key ingredient in the manufacture of mobile phones.

    DR Congo's instability has sucked in neighbouring countries to devastating effect. In the 1990s, two huge conflicts, dubbed Africa’s World Wars, resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

  8. DR Congo soldiers surrender, Rwandan TV claimspublished at 10:10 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    BBC Monitoring

    DR Congo soldiers have surrendered to Rwandan forces following fierce clashes with the M23 rebel movement in DR Congo's eastern North Kivu province, state-owned TV in Rwanda is reporting.

    The soldiers have been fleeing across the border to the Rwandan town of Rubavu, the report claimed in a video posted on X, external.

    Rwandan security forces searched them and ordered them to surrender their weapons, it added.

    There is no independent confirmation of the report.

    Goma is right next to the Rwandan border.

  9. Heavy artillery fire heard in Goma, reports saypublished at 10:08 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    There have been reports of heavy artillery hitting the centre of Goma, hours after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels entered the city.

    The M23 rebel group has been advancing swiftly into Goma in the past few weeks amid intense fighting, with thousands fleeing.

    The rebels say they now control Goma, but the Kinshasa government says its troops are still present at some key locations, including the airport.

    A freelance journalist who spoke to the BBC earlier in the morning said he could hear gunfire in the city.

    The M23 rebel group has been advancing swiftly into Goma in the past few weeks amid intense fighting, with thousands fleeing.

  10. Who are the M23?published at 10:05 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    An M23 fighter loads ammunitionImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    After being expelled from DR Congo, the M23 took up arms again in 2021

    The M23 are led by ethnic Tutsis, who say they needed to take up arms to protect the rights of the minority group.

    They say that several previous deals to end the fighting have not been respected - they take their name from a peace agreement that was signed on March 23 2009.

    Shortly after its creation in 2012, the M23 rapidly gained territory and seized Goma – acts that were met with international opprobrium and accusations of war crimes and human rights violations.

    It was forced to withdraw from Goma, and then suffered a series of heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army backed by a multinational force that saw it expelled from the country.

    M23 fighters then agreed to be integrated into the army in return for promises that Tutsis would be protected.

    But, in 2021, the group took up arms again, saying the promises had been broken.

  11. Rebels say they have seized main city in eastern DR Congopublished at 09:49 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

    M23 rebels holding rifles on the back of a pick up truckImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    M23 rebels capture of Goma will be a massive gain for them

    Thank you for joining our live coverage of the escalating conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Here are the key facts:

    • M23 rebels say they have seized Goma, the main city in the east
    • The Kinshasa government says its troops are still present at some key locations
    • The capture of Goma would mark the rebels' biggest gain in three years of fighting
    • Thousands of people have fled the rebel advance
    • The UN Security Council has condemned what it called the unauthorised presence of external forces in eastern DR Congo
    • The UN and several countries accuse Rwanda, which borders Goma, of backing the M23
    • Rwanda does not deny this but blames the fighting on the Congolese government.