The M23 armed group is advancing on strategic zones in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after taking two key cities, the United Nations warned, underscoring the threat of a regional conflict.
Recent weeks have seen the rapid progression of the Rwanda-backed M23, which has seized vast tracts of the eastern DRC, including Goma and Bukavu.
“If our information is correct, [the M23] continues to advance towards other strategic areas in North and South Kivu,” the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for the Great Lakes region, Huang Xia, told the Security Council.
He said while the “deep intentions of the M23 and their support” remain unknown, “the risk of a regional conflagration is more real than ever,” adding that such a conflict would have “catastrophic” consequences.
The fighting in recent weeks has raised fears of a repeat of the Second Congo War, from 1998 to 2003, which drew in multiple African countries and resulted in millions of deaths from violence, disease and starvation.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy had travelled to Washington DC as he was due to clinch a deal on minerals with the US on Friday, but he left empty handed after a heated exchange with the American president in the Oval Office.
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Vatican issue major health update on Pope Francis, 88, after he was put on ventilator while battling double pneumonia
The Vatican has issued a major health update on Pope Francis after he was put on a ventilator while battling double pneumonia.
A spokesperson said Pope Francis has had coffee and read the morning newspapers, in a more positive sign after a setback in his two-week recovery.
Doctors had put him on non-invasive mechanical ventilation on Friday after he had a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that needed to be extracted.
Medics said it would take a day or two to evaluate how and if the Friday afternoon episode impacted Francis's overall clinical condition. His prognosis remains guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.
The Vatican said on Saturday morning that the 88-year-old had no further respiratory crises overnight, adding: 'The night has passed quietly, the Pope is resting.'
He had coffee in the morning for breakfast, suggesting he was not dependent on a ventilation mask to breathe, and was still eating on his own.
Late on Friday, the Vatican had said the 88-year-old suffered an 'isolated crisis of bronchial spasm', a coughing fit in which Francis inhaled vomit, which resulted in a 'sudden worsening of the respiratory picture'.
Doctors aspirated the vomit and placed Francis on non-invasive mechanical ventilation.