Rwandan-backed rebels are gaining ground in eastern Congo despite the unilateral ceasefire they declared earlier this week.

Congolese M23 rebels are seen as they withdraw from the 3 antennes location in Kibumba, near Goma, North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo on December 23, 2022.

Nearly three thousand people have been killed in the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations, after the provincial capital was captured by rebels following days of fierce fighting with the Congolese army.

The rebels continued advances in eastern Congo despite their own announcement of a cease-fire. The U.N. secretary-general called for them to lay down their guns and agree to mediation.

United Nations agencies called for an end to the violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as fighting between