Tens of thousands of people are fleeing towns in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s east, as rebel forces close in on the city of Goma.
Explosions and gunshots were heard in city – home to more than a million people – late on Sunday evening, according to local media reports.
A spokesman for rebel group has told the Reuters news agency its forces will seize control of Goma at 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT).
This comes hours after DR Congo’s foreign minister accused Rwanda of declaring war by sending its troops over the border to support the M23 rebels. Rwanda says it has adopted a defensive posture.
The M23 rebels have called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender in order to avoid bloodshed.
The group has taken control of vast parts of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since 2021. In the past few weeks the group has been advancing swiftly on Goma amid intense fighting.
Since the start of 2025 more than 400,000 people have been displaced in north and South Kivu, provinces near the border with Rwanda, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
One displaced woman, Alice Feza, said she is at a loss of what to do next, as she has fled from Kiwanja, Rutshuru, Kibumba and now, Goma.
“People are fleeing everywhere, and we don’t know where to go anymore, because we started fleeing a long time ago,” Ms Feza said, adding: “The war catches us here among the host families, now we have nowhere to go.”
Key roads surrounding Goma are blocked and the city’s airport can no longer be used for evacuation and humanitarian efforts, the UN has said.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the DR Congo’s territory and on the M23 rebel group to stop its advance on Goma.
Guterres, in a statement through his spokesman, called on Rwanda to “cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory”. He also called on the M23 to “immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas”.
This comes after 13 soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces were killed in clashes with the rebels.
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The UK has called for an end to attacks on peacekeepers, while France’s UN representative, Nicolas de Rivière, reiterated Guterres’ call for Rwanda to withdraw its troops from the DR Congo.
Both DR Congo and the UN say the M23 group is backed by Rwanda.
Rwanda has not denied this, but the country’s leaders put the blame on the DR Congo for the current conflict.
Speaking at the Security Council meeting, Rwanda’s UN representative Ernest Rwamucyo said he regretted that the international community choose to condemn the M23 group rather than the Congolese army, which, he said, had violated a ceasefire.
On Saturday, the UN said it would be pulling all of its non-essential staff out of Goma. Essential operations are ongoing in the DR Congo.
