DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Fighting has escalated sharply in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have seized key towns and are closing in on the city of Goma, the government’s last stronghold in the region bordering Rwanda.

Many Congolese see the rebel advance as an invasion of their country by a foreign power in an attempt to seize land and Congo’s valuable rare minerals.

The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been gripped by years of conflict that have displaced millions of people. The start of 2025 marked an escalation of the violence as rebels aligned with Rwanda closed in on a key Congolese trading hub,