Corneille Nangaa, leader of the AFC rebel alliance that also includes M23, addresses a press conference at the Serena Hotel in Goma, North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo January 30,

Residents of Bukavu formed long lines outside banks to withdraw cash, a scarce commodity since the M23 rebel group seized control of the city. Last weekend's looting and the rebel group's takeover of Bukavu made locals increasingly anxious about their basic daily needs.

Along with the Rwandan minister for regional integration, James Kabarebe, the U.S. also sanctioned a spokesperson of the M23 rebels, Lawrence Kanyuka

Rwanda-backed M23 insurgents shot dead three boys who had picked up guns left by Congolese soldiers fleeing the rebel advance in eastern Congo, the U.N. said on Tuesday, adding the incident to a list of grave human rights violations reported during the conflict.

Government forces and local militias have clashed south of the provincial capital of Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as troops fall back in the face of an advance by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels,

At least 11 people were killed and around 60 injured in twin explosions at a rally attended by M23 group and affiliated coalition leaders in the eastern city of Bukavu on Thursday.

Residents of the eastern city of Bukavu report widespread violence and lawlessness since M23 rebels seized the city Sunday. A vendor at Kadutu market reports her shop was vandalized and looted over the weekend.

M23 rebels captured the city of 1.3 million people after it was abandoned by Congolese forces. Bukavu lies 101 kilometers south of Goma, which was captured by the rebels in late January. The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo's trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that's critical for much of the world's technology.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) strongly condemned the looting of its warehouses in Bukavu, South Kivu, amid escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

The crucial ferries were suspended for several days due to fierce fighting between the army and M23 rebels in the region.

Three children were executed by the Rwanda-backed M23 after they donned weapons and uniforms abandoned by the Congolese army in the eastern city of Bukavu, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday,