Rwanda-backed rebels bed down in Congo’s Goma and push south for further gains

The United Nations expressed deep concern at reports of M23 rebels and Rwandan troops advancing south towards the Congolese city of Bukavu on Thursday, as the militants sought also to assert their control over east Congo’s largest city Goma.

The Rwandan-backed insurgents’ seizure of Goma this week and ongoing offensive southwards are the biggest escalation since 2012 of a decades-old conflict the U.N. says risks spiralling into another major regional