Some 7,000 people have died since January in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the prime minister of the DRC told a high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday,

As vast swaths of Congolese territory are seized by a Rwandan-backed armed group, Congo’s president looks to make a minerals deal with the United States.

The Rwandan shore of Lake Kivu offers leisure and relaxation. Across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the same lake was recently the site of devastation and misery after a rebel offensive.

Some 7,000 people have died since January in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the prime minister of the DRC told a high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, with combatants and civilians among the dead. About 3,000 deaths were reported in Goma, Judith Suminwa said.

The UN human rights chief accused Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a second major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.

The United Nations Security Council condemned Rwanda for backing a rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and ordered its troops to withdraw from the country.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday called on Rwanda's military to stop supporting the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and immediately withdraw all troops from Congolese territory "without preconditions.

Until now, the international response to the rapidly escalating crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has committed a litany of grave abuses, has been all talk and no action.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 insurgents, who have already taken two key cities in the mineral-rich eastern part of the country, is triggering panic. Reports of the surge describe widespread looting,

On February 16th soldiers from M 23 marched single-file through the streets of Bukavu, eastern Congo’s second-largest city. The beleaguered remains of the Congolese army had retreated without a fight. Rebel fighters toting grenade-launchers and machine-guns took triumphant selfies in the city’s main square.

The Congo River Alliance, a group of rebel outfits including the Rwandan-backed M23, said its fighters "decided to assist the population of Bukavu" in addressing its security challenges under the "old regime".