The eruption at Mount Nyamuragira comes a week after the nearby Mount Nyiragongo erupted, killing at least 31 people and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Nyamuragira lies around 25km north of Goma, a city of about 2 million people, but Mount Nyiragongo stands between them, creating a natural barrier.

“It’s not in a zone that’s inhabited and it’s not of a great intensity,” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya told Reuters.

Nyamuragira is considered Africa’s most active volcano, erupting once every two to four years.

Nyiragongo’s eruption last Saturday sent a wall of lava rushing toward Goma before stopping shortly outside the city limits. Hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes in the aftermath and in response to warnings of a possible second eruption this week.