Rebels appear to be edging closer to taking control of the key city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo following reports that they had captured its airport.
The Congolese government has insisted that it is still in charge as fighting in parts of the city continues. Warehouses with food and medical supplies have been looted, aid agencies say.
Clashes between M23 rebels and the army and its allies have left hospitals overwhelmed by casualties and bodies lying on streets, according to the UN.
Growing anger over the rebel offensive led to protesters targeting foreign embassies in the capital, Kinshasa. Calls for peace talks to end fighting are mounting.
Neighboring Rwanda has been accused of backing Tutsi-led M23 as it made a rapid advance in recent months across mineral-rich regions.
Rwanda has denied giving me any direct military support.
What’s fighting in DR Congo all about? As it happened: Events in Goma on Tuesday
On Tuesday, new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame to ensure an immediate ceasefire in DR Congo.
Kagame said in a post on X that y agreed on the need for a ceasefire and address the “root causes of conflict”.
Kenya’s President William Ruto has said that both Tshisekedi and Kagame will attend an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation, but two leaders have not confirmed that they will attend.
The lakeside city of Goma, on the border with Rwanda, is a vital transport and trading hub close to large sources of minerals that are essential in the manufacture of mobile phones among or things.
Following a meeting on Tuesday, the African Union (AU) called on M23 to lay down its arms.
AU’s peace and security commissioner, Bankole Adeoye, condemned “violence by M23 and all or negative forces, and calls for full respect of DR Congo’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity”, a statement from AU on X said.
As diplomats were discussing the situation, rebels seemed to be gaining ground in Goma.
“y have taken control of the airport, M23 fighters are re,” a security source told AFP news agency.
“More than 1,200 Congolese soldiers have surrendered and are confined to [UN base] at the airport.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Adelheid Marschang, World Health Organization’s emergency response co-ordinator for Democratic Republic of Congo spoke of “hundreds of people in hospital, most admitted with gunshot wounds”.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its hospital in Goma had received more than 100 wounded in just 24 hours, a number it previously received over a month.
It said this had forced its staff to turn hospital car park into a triage unit.
The use of heavy artillery in densely populated areas is causing severe injuries, particularly among children, it added.
In Kinshasa, angry crowds targeted French, Kenyan, and Ugandan embassies among others.
y stormed streets, burning tires and disrupting traffic.
Authorities in Kinshasa have since banned protests in the city. US embassy told its citizens to leave the country “while commercial [flight] operations are available” following attacks, while European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas branded m “unacceptable” and “deeply troubling”.
0:23 Watch: Chaotic scenes on the streets of Kinshasa
As well as civilian deaths, South Africa said on Tuesday that four more of its soldiers, who are in DR Congo as part of peacekeeping efforts, had died as a result of clashes with M23.
This brings total number of South African deaths to 13. Malawi and Uruguay have also lost peacekeepers.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday spoke to his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, with the two agreeing on an urgent need for a ceasefire and resumption of peace talks.
AFP A woman in an orange head scarf looks at the camera holding her head with one hand.AFP Civilians have suffered as rebels made a rapid advance in the east of DR Congo
The Congolese government has also asked for a meeting of the UN Security Council – demanding that this time it take tough action against Rwanda.
During an emergency UN meeting on Sunday, DR Congo demanded sanctions against Rwanda, saying its forces had crossed into its territory in what amounted to a “declaration of war”.
Following the meeting, the UN condemned M23’s advances and “ongoing flagrant disregard for sovereignty and territorial integrity of DR Congo”, including the presence of “external forces”.
Rwanda has in the past denied direct support for M23, but UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said re is no doubt its troops were supporting rebels.
Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa, Imogen Foulkes in Geneva, and Basillioh Rukanga and Barbara Plett Usher in Nairobi.
