Congo Humanitarian Crisis Escalates After Rwanda-Backed M23 Rebels Capture Goma

Humanitarian groups say they are grappling with the funding pause by the U.S., one of the largest donors to the DRC, amid mass casualties and displacement.

M23 rebels patrol the streets of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Jan. 29, 2025. Brian Inganga/AP

YAOUNDE, Cameroon—Journalist Eugene Amani, 32, was gripped by an overwhelming wave of fear and helplessness while watching the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group march on Goma, the main city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), after seizing nearby towns in one of the biggest escalations yet in a three-year conflict.

Amani said he felt apprehensive about life under M23 rule yet lacked the means to flee the city.