A rebel group is advancing on eastern Congo's largest city and over 100,000 people have fled

NZULO, Congo (AP) — The M23 rebel group's advance toward eastern Congo's largest city has displaced over 178,000 people in the past two weeks, the United Nations said, as the fighters closed in on Goma on the border with Rwanda.

The M23 has been making significant advances, though it was unclear whether the rebels will try to capture Goma, which they seized in 2012 and controlled for over a week. Congolese authorities said Tuesday its fighters seized the town of Minova, on a key supply route for Goma, a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.

Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, composed of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army over a decade ago. Rwanda's government denies the claim.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said Tuesday the new mass displacement was caused by fighting around Minova in South Kivu province.

Thousands of people spilled out of packed wooden boats in Goma on Wednesday, some with bundles of belongings strapped around their foreheads.

Displaced people have filled the Nzulo camp on the outskirts of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and home to around 2 million people.

But some people were already leaving the camp as rebels approached.

David Kasereka fled on a motorbike with a child, barely stopping to speak. “We don’t know where we are going, because everywhere, the bombs are following us,” he told The Associated Press.

Nadège Bauma, like many in Nzulo, was first displaced due to intense fighting in the town of Sake. Inside the camp, the mother of six gathered what she could of her belongings and piled them into a minibus to flee again.

“We just learned that the M23 have arrived in Ngwiro (about 19 miles or 30 kilometers west of Goma) and we decided to leave the area because bullets and bombs are falling,” she said.

The provincial governor of South Kivu, Jean-Jacques Purusi, confirmed the capture of Minova, adding that the rebels have also taken the mining towns of Lumbishi, Numbi and Shanje along with the town of Bweremana in North Kivu province.

Congo’s military said in a statement Tuesday that the rebels made “breakthroughs” in Minova and Bweremana.

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025(AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025(AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People fleeing M-23 rebel advances arrive by boat in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Markets appear to be settling a day after a broad rally was fueled by hopes the Trump administration may take a more targeted approach to tariffs.

Futures for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all rose less than 0.1% before Tuesday's opening bell.

KB Homes slid 8.6% after it fell significantly short of Wall Street's first quarter sales and profit forecasts. Already mired in a slump, homebuilders are now faced with potentially rising costs due to tariffs, which they will have to pass on to buyers. KB's results and grim forecast dragged a host of other homebuilders' shares down with it, including Toll Brothers, LGI and Lennar.

Tesla shares ticked up 1.3% despite more grim sales figures from Europe.

European sales of Tesla electric cars were almost cut in half during the first two months of the year compared with a year earlier, even as the overall market for battery-powered cars grew, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

In addition to an aging model line, sales declines are also being blamed in part on CEO Elon Elon Musk’s endorsement of Germany’s far-right party in last month’s national election, his embrace of fringe political movements, and a gesture during a Trump event in January that many saw as a Nazi salute. Tesla is also facing increasing competition from Chinese carmakers such as BYD.

Wall Street has several economic updates this week. The Conference Board releases its consumer confidence survey for March on Tuesday. On Friday, the U.S. government releases the personal consumption expenditures price index for February, a measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve.

Stocks have been roiled for weeks by concerns that a trade war could hinder economic growth and increase inflationary pressures.

A new round of tariffs is scheduled to go into effect on April 2, but President Donald Trump has been unclear on his plans, saying Monday that even though he wants to charge “reciprocal” rates — import taxes to match the rates charged by other countries -- that “we might be even nicer than that.”

In a Truth Social post, Trump said Venezuela has been “very hostile” to the U.S. and any county purchasing its oil will pay a 25% tariff on all exports to the U.S. starting April 2.

“U.S. tariffs remain a critical headwind for the region to navigate. Any slowdown in trade could weigh on Asia’s export-driven economies, while shifting supply chains may complicate investment flows,” Junrong Yeap of IG said in a commentary.

That would likely more than double the already high tariffs facing China, which in 2023 bought 68% of the oil exported by Venezuela, according to a 2024 analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. also imports oil from Venezuela.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 37,780.54, while the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.6% to 2,615.81.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 2.4% to 23,344.25 as heavy selling of tech-related shares pulled the benchmark lower.

Cell phone maker Xiaomi's Hong Kong-traded shares dropped 6.3% and delivery app company Meituan lost 4.4%. E-commerce giant Alibaba was down 3.8%.

The Shanghai Composite index was unchanged at 3,369.98.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.8% and the SET in Thailand lost 0.5%.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX added 1.1%, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.3%. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.7%.

Financial information is displayed on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Financial information is displayed on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The display board with the Dax curve in the trading hall of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa/dpa via AP)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)