In the Democratic Republic of Congo, protests broke out in Kinshasa Tuesday as people denounced inaction from the international community to end the raging conflict in the eastern city of Goma, where M23 forces have consolidated power. The U.N. says over half a million people have been forced to flee their homes in January alone due to the escalating violence in the eastern DRC. Congo’s foreign minister has called for targeted sanctions and an arms embargo on Rwanda over its backing of M23 soldiers, and for Rwanda to withdraw its troops from the region. Hundreds of foreign military contractors crossed into Rwanda from Goma today as they surrendered to the U.N. after M23 fighters consolidated control of the eastern DRC’s largest city. U.N. envoy for the DRC Vivian van de Perre addressed the Security Council Tuesday via video link from Goma wearing a helmet and flak jacket as she pleaded with Rwanda and DRC to work toward a diplomatic solution.

Vivian van de Perre: “We remind all parties of their obligation to uphold international humanitarian law and stress that attacks on United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes. The degree of suffering that the population in Goma and its environs is enduring is truly unimaginable.”