The Congolese army called on deserters to rejoin their units on Thursday, as rogue soldiers fired guns and looted parts of the eastern town of Lubero after fleeing nearby clashes with advancing Rwandan-backed rebels.

The defection ceremony took place in front of the provincial police headquarters, drawing the attention of the local population.

Movement (M23) rebels have issued a temporary suspension of services for state employees and officials in the captured city of Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In a statement released on Saturday,

The crucial ferries were suspended for several days due to fierce fighting between the army and M23 rebels in the region.

The armed group, backed by several thousand Rwandan soldiers, has taken the capital of South Kivu province. It continues to advance, despite calls for a ceasefire from the African Union and threats of sanctions.

After the M23 Rwanda-backed rebels Feb. 16 occupied Bukavu, a second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo, Catholic bishops and experts are warning this offensive in the provinces of North and South Kivu signals a clear intent to establish a permanent foreign country presence in the region.

Local authorities and civil society leaders confirmed 2,500 prisoners escaped and there was widespread looting after M23 took Bukavu, DRC.

Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paid their fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DR Congo's Lake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake's

The Rwandan-backed rebels' entry into Bukavu follows their capture of Goma, defying international calls for a ceasefire.

Press Release - The Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC Red Cross), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are gravely concerned by the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Kivu region of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),

The number of civilians who fled from the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to escape from clashes between rebel group “March 23 Movement” (M23) and government forces has surpassed 100,

Congo Army Runaways Loot and Sow Panic in North Kivu Town (Reuters ... province after the M23 advance into the provincial capital Bukavu over the weekend led to clashes between Congolese ...