Fighting has intensified in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have captured key towns and are advancing towards Goma, the government’s last stronghold in the region near Rwanda.

M23 rebels said they have advanced into Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced.

Goma is on the brink of falling after M23 rebels and Rwandan troops entered the eastern Congolese regional capital. The border between DRC and Rwanda was closed, and Kenyan President William Ruto convened an extraordinary East African Community summit amidst escalating uncertainty.

Footage shows people believed to be escaped prisoners on the streets of Goma, as M23 rebels enter the Congolese city.

In recent weeks, the armed conflict between the M23/AFC and the Congolese army, backed by their allies, has flared up again in the province of North Kivu and spread to the neighbouring province of South Kivu.

Rwandan-backed rebels marched into east Congo's largest city Goma on Monday and Congolese troops exchanged fire with the Rwandan military across the border, in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict for more than a decade.

Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma.

Residents of Goma in eastern Congo are fleeing amid escalating conflict as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels claim control of the city, leading to fears of further regional destabilization. The Congolese government denies full rebel control,

Heavy artillery fire could be heard in Goma on Monday, hours after Rwandan troops and fighters from the M23 rebel group entered the capital of North Kivu Province. The UN has warned of a looming crisis.

M23 rebels said they have advanced into Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Congolese rebels said on Sunday they had taken Goma, the biggest city in the east of the mineral-rich country, after a lightning advance that has forced thousands of people to flee and fuelled concerns of a regional war.