Crisis in the DRC; What you need to Know

On January 27th, the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) rebel group announced that its forces would occupy the city of Goma following the expiry of its 25 January ultimatum to members of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) to surrender their weapons and military equipment to the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Since then, there have been reports of M23 forces marching into Goma and the group has declared that the city has fallen.

Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes with dozens reported dead and hundreds injured.  The UN reports that fighting is still ongoing in various parts of the city and the situation remains volatile.

The major actors are as below.