Pakistan's military says 18 troops and 23 separatist rebels have been killed in fighting in northwestern Balochistan province.

Congolese troops have fought back against Rwanda-backed rebels who the U.N. says are moving fast into the South Kivu province after seizing the region’s largest city and an international airport.

A major offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in east Democratic Republic of Congo appeared to have stalled on Saturday after the army took back some ground, two civil society sources and a local official said.

Rwanda-backed rebels who have captured eastern Congo’s largest city say they plan to take their rebellion to the capital and seek to gain political power.

Rwanda-backed rebels were quickly expanding their presence in eastern Congo after capturing Goma, the region's major city, the U.N. said Friday, also expressing concerns over executions it learned were carried out by the rebels following a major escalation of their yearslong rebellion.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels asserted their control over east Congo's largest city Goma on Thursday by calling on residents to resume normal life, even as the group clashed with Congolese troops as they tried to take more territory.

Rebels backed by Rwanda captured more towns in eastern Congo on Wednesday as they moved beyond the key city of Goma in an apparent attempt to expand their control in the conflict-battered region. The rebels advanced toward the center of South Kivu province after taking several towns,

Authorities confirmed 773 bodies and 2,880 injured persons in Goma's morgues and hospitals, Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya told a briefing in the capital, Kinshasa, adding that the death toll could be higher.