NAIROBI (Reuters) -Uganda has deployed more than 1,000 extra soldiers into east Congo in the last week near an area where the Kinshasa government is fighting M23 rebels, four diplomatic and U.N. sources said, heightening fears of a regional escalation.

Uganda has sent over 1,000 additional troops into eastern Congo amid rising tensions with the M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda. This deployment adds to the 4,000-5,000 Ugandan soldiers already in the region,

Uganda’s exports to DR Congo have been growing over the years, rising to about $433.2m (nearly Shs2 trillion) between December 2023 and November 2024

M23 now controls nearly all of North Kivu and the province’s vast mineral wealth—including tin (cassiterite), tantalum (coltan), tungsten (wolframite), and gold, which are critical for global electronics and industrial production.

The rebel group M23 declared a ceasefire in areas under its control in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, citing humanitarian reasons. The streets of Goma were busy as aid groups rushed Tuesday to help the thousands of people wounded and displaced during the past week’s fighting between M23 and pro-Congolese government forces.

Rwandan-backed armed group M23 announced a humanitarian "ceasefire" from Tuesday in DR Congo's perennially explosive east, days before a planned crisis meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.