In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, intense fighting is continuing between M23 soldiers and government forces after the rebel group captured parts of the key city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. The Congolese government said bombs are being dropped on hospitals and camps for displaced people with the goal of “terrorizing” local populations. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and residents are fleeing Goma in their thousands.

France is pushing for a U.N. Security Council resolution explicitly naming Rwanda as the backer of the M23 forces — an assessment backed by the U.N. and many countries, including the U.S.

Protests have erupted across the DRC, including in the capital Kinshasa, where demonstrations took place on college campuses and in front of the U.S., French, Ugandan, Kenyan and Rwandan embassies — nations accused of complicity in the protracted and devastating conflict in the DRC.

A coalition of civil society groups gathered Monday in Bukavu in eastern Congo, decrying the U.N. Security Council’s failure to issue a binding resolution a day earlier.

Maitrise Nene Binty: “Despite calls for a ceasefire and the immediate withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese soil, the troops continue to advance. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic and concerning, as thousands of displaced people fleeing the conflict are facing an unprecedented crisis.”