Congo demands international sanctions 'to stop Rwanda'

A Red Cross team member marks body references on the day of the burial of victims of the fighting in Goma, following the intensification of fighting between M23 rebels and the Congolese army, at ITIG Cemetery, in Goma, North Kivu province, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The international community must take concrete action and impose sanctions on Rwanda to curb the M23 rebel conflict in eastern Congo and keep the peace in the wider region, Congo's communications minister told Reuters on Monday.

An ongoing escalation has displaced around half a million more people and led to the capture last week of Congo's largest eastern city Goma, fanning fears of regional wars like those that killed millions between 1996 and 2003, most from hunger and disease.