Rebels backed by Rwanda have seized more towns in eastern Congo, expanding their hold after taking control of the key city of Goma.
Advancing deeper into South Kivu province, the rebels captured Kalungu, Kanyezire, and Mukwinja, alarming local leaders and aid workers.
U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric warned that the rapid rebel gains threatened to prolong instability and endanger civilians and U.N. personnel.
The Crisis Group cautioned that unchecked fighting could mirror the devastating wars of the 1990s and early 2000s that claimed millions of lives.
Unlike their brief occupation of Goma in 2012, the rebels now plan to establish an administration, signaling a long-term presence in the region.
Meanwhile, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi was notably absent from an urgent regional summit, opting instead for diplomatic talks in Angola.
Facing relentless rebel offensives, Congolese troops, many of them foreign mercenaries, were seen surrendering their weapons at the Rwandan border.
M23 rebel spokesman Willy Ngoma, under U.N. sanctions for war crimes, claimed nearly 300 mercenaries had surrendered and left Congo.
“We bring peace, not war,” Ngoma declared, though fighting continued in Goma’s Katoyi and Kahembe neighborhoods, forcing thousands to flee.
At the border, exhausted refugees poured into Rwanda, where Red Cross workers offered aid as officials searched their belongings.