The United Nations warned Friday that the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could spiral further, threatening to destabilize the broader region.
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said civilians in the area were enduring immense suffering and stressed that the conflict could not be resolved through military means.
Türk made the remarks during a special session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, which will decide Friday whether to initiate an international investigation into alleged human rights violations amid the deadly clashes.
The DRC called for an urgent meeting to address the escalating violence by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in North and South Kivu provinces, presenting a draft resolution to establish the investigation.
Last week, M23 fighters and Rwandan troops seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu – a mineral-rich region in eastern DRC that has been blighted by war for more than three decades.
"The population in eastern DRC is suffering terribly, while many of the products we consume or use, such as mobile phones, are created using minerals from the east of the country. We are all implicated," Türk said, opening the council's special session.
"If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come for the people of eastern DRC, but also beyond the country's borders. The risk of violence escalating throughout the subregion has never been higher."
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said more than 500,000 people had been displaced since the beginning of January.
"The military path is not the answer to the political, social and economic challenges that are at the root of this conflict, including the illegal exploitation of natural resources," Türk said. He called for M23 and the Rwandan forces to facilitate access to humanitarian aid.
M23's lightning offensive against Goma was a major escalation after more than three years of fighting.
Türk said that since Jan. 26, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 2,880 injured, adding that the real figures were likely much higher.
The DRC's communications minister, Patrick Muyaya, told the council there had been mass human rights violations and attacks on civilians.
"Indiscriminate bombing against internal displacement camps and populated areas has compounded a catastrophic humanitarian situation. These attacks have deliberately targeted vulnerable people," he said. "The Rwanda Defence Forces and their proxies have transformed areas of shelter into military targets, imperiling the lives of thousands of innocent people."
Eastern DRC has deposits of coltan, a metallic ore that is vital in making phones and laptops, as well as gold and other minerals.
The draft resolution to be discussed Friday condemns rights violations in Kivu and the "unlawful exploitation of natural resources," calling for strict measures to stop the plundering.
It "strongly condemns the military and logistical support provided by the Rwanda Defence Force" to M23 and demands they "immediately halt human rights violations."
It also calls for the fighters to "immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from the occupied areas" and urges them to ensure unhindered humanitarian access.
The draft resolution calls for "an independent fact-finding mission on the serious human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law" in Kivu.
The mission should collect evidence of abuses for use in future court cases and try to identify those responsible, the draft text said.
Human Rights Watch and more than 70 other rights organizations have called on the council to set up the investigation.
