Hundreds of displaced Congolese marched down a sloping road in northeast Goma with their lives on their backs.
Mothers with mattresses strapped to them dragged their toddlers alongside and trucks brimmed with bodies and belongings.
Many of them have been displaced more than once, as the violent insurgency waged by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels against the Congolese army spread furiously in 2024.
Read more: At least 13 peacekeepers killed in DRC
It reached new heights in recent weeks as they seized control of large swathes of territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and now, are advancing on the regional capital Goma.
The humanitarian hub is marked for capture by M23 with dozens of diplomats and non-essential United Nations (UN) staff evacuated by planes, cars and ferries.
As they leave, 250,000 of the most vulnerable Congolese pour into the city for safety.
We watched the movement near Goma’s Kihisi roundabout as hordes of civilians walked in the middle of the road with experience and urgency.
As we stopped to mark their plight, a small crowd stopped to stare at us.
Reports were circling that Rwandan troops had crossed the border into Goma just 5km from where we were standing – an invasion later confirmed by the UN top official in the DRC, Bintu Keita.
As we pressed record, a man with rageful red eyes pointed at me and yelled violently. We were attacked as we tried to escape.
Our colleague translated the intent fuelling the mob once we got to safety – they thought I was Rwandan.
That frenzy gives a small glimpse into the communal-level tribal hostility that has fuelled this 30-year conflict – a hangover from the notoriously violent Rwandan genocide.
The panicked civil unrest in that neighbourhood has not quelled in the hours since news spread of M23 moving in.
UN staff still in Goma have been told to stay indoors and there is increasing concern for civilians here as evidence looms of M23 atrocities in areas of their control.
“We know that M23 has been using the local population to transport their ammunition, like in [recently captured] Minova, and this is not the first time,” one aid worker told us on condition of anonymity.
We spoke to an M23 spokesman Manzi Ngaramble from our hotel in Goma and he confirmed that they are moving in to capture the city to “protect the people”.
“I cannot tell you how soon [M23 will capture Goma] but I can tell you this: Goma will never be the same again.”
When M23 previously captured Goma in 2012, peace was quickly brokered and the rebels retreated.
Now, Rwandan involvement has made this a regional, diplomatic crisis.
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A UN security council meeting due to be held on Monday was expedited to Sunday – echoing calls for de-escalation and protection of civilians as Goma hangs in the balance.
Troops from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) – the UN’s biggest peacekeeping mission – have been told to pull into the city and lock in place, after days of fighting on Goma’s outskirts led to at least 13 peacekeepers killed and 50 injured.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is “deeply concerned by the escalation of violence”, calling on the Rwandan Defence Forces to stop supporting M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC.
As diplomats and humanitarians scramble to neutralise an explosion that is decades in the making, Goma’s future looks dark.
The hundreds of thousands of civilians who sought safety here are caught in a rabid frenzy of fear, rage and uncertainty.
