The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen fighting between the army and M23 rebels this past week. The conflict in this week alone has forced over 72,000 people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.
The rebels, M23, claim to represent ethnic Tutsis in the region of the eastern DRC and have launched there largest attack since 2012-2013 where they launched an insurrection that had captured a large part of the countryside. The fighting has been as close as 12 miles to the main city in the region, Goma. Army bases around Goma have been attacked by the rebels in recent months. Approximately 7,000 of the displaced people have crossed into Uganda while others have taken shelter in Goma or sites built to protect people running from a volcanic eruption last year. The conflict in the region has been nearly constant since 1996 after Rwanda and neighboring countries invaded to pursue Hutu fighters who had participated in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The DRC has the most internally displaced people in Africa currently with 5.6 million people displaced.
Read more: Latest DRC violence has displaced more than 72,000 people
