Laden with just the possessions they can carry, thousands of displaced people have reached the outskirts of the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fleeing a rapid M23 rebel advance that has taken more territory than ever before.
The advance marks a turning point for the M23 since it launched a fresh insurgency into Congo's mineral-rich east in March 2022, analysts say.
They never managed to gain this much ground during previous offensives in 2012 and 2013 and the more territory they take, the more opportunity there is for them to generate more mining revenue to fund their campaign, analysts say.
The M23 is the latest in a series of groups of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgents to rise up against Congolese forces. The group, named after the March 23 date of a 2009 accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt, accuses the government of not living up to the peace deal to fully integrate Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.
There are more than 8,000 M23 fighters, of which around 5,500 have been recruited since September, according to a U.N. experts' report published this month.
Congo, Western powers and the United Nations accuse neighbouring Rwanda of backing the group with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this.
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