Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken control of Minova, a key commercial town in the east of the country, according to various sources.
The fall of the city places the rebels less than 40 kilometers from the provincial capital, Goma, located near the border with Rwanda.
This comes two weeks after the M23 took Masisi, with the Congolese army launching a counter-offensive to retake the town.
Intense fighting has taken place in recent months between rebels and government forces in the mineral-rich region, and more than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes.
The Reuters news agency quotes Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance which includes the M23, as saying that “Minova is in our hands.”
The governor of the province, Jean-Jacques Purusi, confirmed the capture, reports Reuters.
A contact in Goma, who spoke to the BBC, also said Minova had fallen into rebel hands.
The fighting also saw an influx of wounded treated at hospital in the provincial capital, the AFP news agency cited Red Cross officials as saying.
“Between December 1 and 21, we saw 100 patients (and) between January 1 and 20, we had 211 patients,” Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told AFP in the province of North Kivu.
Since 2021, the M23 has periodically fought and taken control of large swathes of eastern DR Congo. Due to the violence, hundreds of thousands of people have fled.
Last year there were fears that rebels would march towards Goma, whose population is estimated at between one and two million.
There was a lull in fighting in late July, but heavy fighting resumed in October and worsened towards the end of the year.
On Monday, rights group Amnesty International said a significant increase in attacks in civilian areas by both sides over the past month had had devastating consequences for civilians.
The M23 is often accused by DR Congo and the UN of being a force mandated by Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.
Last year, however, Rwanda did not deny a UN report that around 4,000 soldiers were fighting alongside the M23 in DR Congo.
There have been a number of diplomatic initiatives by neighboring countries and others to resolve the conflicts, which have failed.
The latest negotiations, scheduled for December 15 between the leaders of Rwanda and DR Congo, were canceled at the last minute due to differences between the leaders of these two countries.
Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa
