UN mission chief in eastern DRC city of Goma: AFP

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The acting head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo landed on Thursday in Goma, which has been controlled by the M23 armed group for more than a year.

Vivian van de Perre touched down in the eastern city in a UN helicopter in what the mission said was "an important milestone after a prolonged interruption of air access".

M23 fighters seized Goma in January last year as part of a lightning offensive across the country's resource-rich east that left thousands dead.

The region has been hit by conflict for the last 30 years and targeted by the Rwanda-backed M23 since its resurgence in 2021.

Goma's international airport has been shut since it was the scene of heavy fighting for control of the city.

The UN mission, MONUSCO, has some 8,000 troops in eastern DRC and kept its bases in Goma after the M23 takeover, but has not been able to use the airport.

In December, the governments in Kinshasa and Kigali signed a peace accord in Washington but it has not led to an end the fighting.

The text provides for the involvement of MONUSCO in a field monitoring mission with a view to implementing a permanent ceasefire.

The mission is expected to be deployed in the coming weeks in Uvira, on the border with Burundi, which the M23 seized in December before withdrawing under US pressure.

On Tuesday, the UN said it wanted to use Goma airport to deploy its ceasefire monitoring mission in Uvira.

Van de Perre said in a statement that she was going to Goma "to support preparations for the monitoring and verification of the ceasefire".

Angola, which in recent weeks has resumed its mediation efforts in the conflict, has proposed a new ceasefire from Wednesday between Congolese forces and the M23.