The Globe and Mail: Refugees flee as M23 offensive moves closer to key city in eastern Congo

(Goma in the news)

Thousands of panicking people are fleeing from a strategic town in eastern Congo as a Rwanda-backed militia group pushes closer to sealing off the last road exit from Goma, the provincial capital and biggest city in the region.

Videos on social media showed an exodus of exhausted women and children from the town of Sake, a key crossroads west of Goma. Old people staggered under the weight of mattresses and sacks of belongings, children carried infants on their backs, farmers pulled goats and young men pushed bicycles and wooden scooters overloaded with bags.