The M23 rebels advanced in DRC's North Kivu province, displacing thousands of residents and looting villages, local broadcaster Radio Okapi reported.
On Wednesday, the M23 rebel group took control of the Mbingi town, 50 kilometers from the capital of the Lubero administrative territory in the North Kivu province of the DRC, blocking strategic roads to the settlement, the report said.
The Congolese government forces reportedly left the town after a brief exchange of fire.
The advance of the Tutsi-led group caused a mass displacement of civilians, estimated in the thousands, as residents fled the fighting and looting, and the humanitarian crisis is worsening, with displaced people seeking refuge in churches, schools, and market sheds, lacking adequate shelter and assistance, according to Radio Okapi's sources.
The M23 rebels have been on the offensive in the south of the Lubero territory since Sunday. Advancing, the rebels seized the villages of Matembe, Butsorowya, Mambasa, and Alimbongo.