Goma, April 12 Intense gunfire and artillery fire shook the western neighbourhoods of Goma overnight from Friday to Saturday, plunging the city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into panic, according to local sources.

Residents in the Keshero and Lac-Vert districts reported heavy shooting and explosions beginning around 10 pm local time on Friday. The barrage continued for several hours, prompting civilians to flee or seek shelter indoors.

A tense calm returned on Saturday morning, but no official casualty figures were released as of midday.

According to local media, the fighting involved March 23 Movement (M23) rebels, who have controlled Goma since January, and armed factions believed to be affiliated with the pro-government Wazalendo militias and the DRC armed forces (FARDC).

In a broadcast aired by the local branch of the Congolese National Radio and Television, the M23 accused the FARDC-Wazalendo coalition of launching coordinated attacks on its positions during the night.

Since seizing Goma in late January, the M23 has established a parallel administration in the provincial capital of North Kivu, Xinhua news agency reported. Hostilities have continued to flare across the province, a volatile region at the heart of eastern DRC's long-running conflict.

The United Nations estimates that roughly one million people, including some 400,000 children, have been newly displaced since late January across North and South Kivu provinces, as heavy fighting continues between government forces and armed groups vying for control.

Increased violence in the three easternmost provinces of the DRC is raising deep concern for civilians, including aid workers, a UN humanitarian official had said last month.

Bruno Lemarquis, the UN resident humanitarian coordinator for the DRC, voiced alarm over the recent increase in targetted violence against civilians, including relief workers, and civilian infrastructure in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

Lemarquis said in a statement that the attacks, including the abduction of dozens of patients from two hospitals, are serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws. They threaten operations providing relief to millions of civilians.

UNHCR said that around the North Kivu capital of Goma, about 17,000 people remain in displacement sites, schools and churches, while 414,000 people have been on the move for the past four weeks, encouraged by the de facto authorities to return to their villages of origin.

The agency said that at least 209,000 people from the sites arrived spontaneously in Masisi, Nyiragongo, and Rutshuru territories, where basic services are not equipped for the sudden surge of people. Given the widespread insecurity in the provinces and surrounding areas, many more may need to cross borders to find protection and assistance.

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