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What historical events affected Goma?

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Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has experienced instability since the 1990s, including periods of widespread looting by mutinous security forces in the early years of the decade. Given Goma’s proximity to Rwanda, in 1994 the city and surrounding areas received hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Rwandan genocide, leading to a humanitarian crisis and ratcheting up tensions in the region. Both the First Congo War (1996–97) and the Second Congo War (1998–2003) began in the eastern provinces of the DRC, and Goma was seized by rebelling forces early on in both conflicts. The city has also been seized by the March 23 Movement (M23) militant group, once briefly in 2012, and then again in 2025; it has remained under M23 control since then.