Fighting reaches outskirts of eastern Congo's largest city as rebels close in

A person wounded in the fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese armed forces arrives at the Cbeca Ndosho hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jan. 23, 2025. People fleeing M23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jan. 22, 2025.

Panic spread in eastern Congo's main city on Thursday, with M23 rebels steadily inching closer to Goma and seizing a nearby town as they battle the Congolese army. Bombs were heard going off in the city's distant outskirts, and hundreds of wounded civilians were brought in to the main hospital from the area of the fighting.