UN officials have arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo to assess the security and humanitarian situation in the east of the country. Fighting in the North Kivu province has intensified recently with the M23 rebels threatening to cut off all road links to Goma, a city of more than one million inhabitants situated on the border with Rwanda. The French ambassador to the UN reaffirmed the support of the international community with the DRC, stating that what is happening in the east of the country is not acceptable and the action of the groups is very reprehensible. Several regional initiatives intended to defuse the conflict have so far failed to stop the fighting.