It has been nearly a month since M23 rebels seized control of Goma, the main city of the eastern province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since then, the rebel leaders have established an administration that appears to be effectively managing public affairs, independent of directives from authorities in the nation's capital, Kinshasa.

For some residents, life has settled into a new normal.

Fidele Nkulu, a motorcycle cab driver, believes that the security situation has improved since the new administration entered the city but that more needs to be done.

"What we've noticed lately is different from what used to happen. At least in terms of safety, we're trying to improve on what we had before, despite the fact that when we come home from work in the evening, there are certain cases of insecurity in our various neighborhoods. But on the road, the situation is good," he told DW.

After capturing Goma in late January, the M23 fighters, who UN experts say are backed by thousands of Rwandan soldiers, swiftly took control of Bukavu, the capital of the province of South Kivu, giving the armed group a major foothold in the region.

According to the UN's humanitarian agency Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the day after Bukavu was taken, life in the city........

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