Nearly 3,000 people were killed over the last week as rebels captured a key city in one of the deadliest battles in the Central African country in decades.

February 4, 2025. Congo's communication minister says 2,000 bodies need to be buried after rebels last week ca

Over 2,000 bodies require burial in Goma after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took over the Democratic of Congo city last week, inflaming a decade-old conflict and humanitarian crisis, Congo's communications minister Patrick Muyaya said late on Monday.

The United Nations meanwhile said the battle for the key city of Goma, which the M23 and Rwandan troops seized last week, had left at least 2,900 people dead - far higher than the previous death toll of 900.

The capture of Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, last week by the M23 rebel group follows a three-year insurgency heavily supported by neighbouring Rwanda despite its awful impact on millions of Congolese civilians.

NGO ActionAid and locals say cost of some items has risen between 18% and 160%, as conflict blocks aid and supplies.