Jan 22 (EFE/EPA) – The NGO Save the Children reported on Wednesday that nearly 120,000 children have been forced to flee their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the beginning of 2025 due to a surge in fighting between the army and rebel groups.

KINSHASA - The army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday called on citizens to remain calm in the face of recent advances by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the eastern province of North Kivu.

The army acknowledged Tuesday a "breakthrough" by the M23 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where the armed group fighting government forces has seized a trading hub that supplies the city of Goma.

Save the Children, the international charity organisation, has called for unrestricted humanitarian access in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In a statement issued on Wednesday, the organisation said about 120,

A bout 120,000 children have been forced from their homes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the start of the year as a wave of horrifying violence hits villages [1] with some children becoming separated from their parents and one town cut off, said Save the Children.

M23 rebels tightened their stranglehold over key trading routes to the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after taking more towns Monday and Tuesday, Congo’s army said.

The M23 group which is fighting the Congolese army in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday seized a trading hub that supplies the city of Goma, security and local sources told AFP.

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Luggage on their backs, they trudged all Wednesday morning along the road leading to downtown Goma, fleeing the advancing fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.Streams of displaced people have flocked from Minova,

"The M23's strategy is clearly to suffocate the town of Goma. To date, Goma is surrounded by the M23, and the fear is that there will be a shortage of foodstuff, as access routes to the city are blocked," said Lucha, a civil society organisation.

As US President Donald Trump’s new term begins, Democratic Republic of Congo is trying to anticipate what the American position will be on a number of important issues: the Rwanda-M23 conflict, the Lobito Corridor and rivalry with China in the race for strategic minerals.