Troops from Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have been firing at each other across their shared border in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, where Rwandan-backed rebels launched an offensive,

Residents in eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma are fleeing after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces.

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.

Hundreds of people attempted to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda on Sunday, as heavy gunfire resonated across the key eastern Congolese city of Goma, just a few miles from the frontline.

Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo are closing in on a key city in the mineral-rich region aided by neighboring Rwanda’s army, the head of a peacekeeping mission told United Nations Security Council members during an emergency meeting on Sunday.

Rwandan backed rebels have entered the city of Goma, a key city in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Could the mineral rich region be in danger of tipping into all out regional conflict?

Rwandan diplomats say their army is not deployed in the DRC, but if it was it would be to protect the Congolese Tutsi community and their own borders against the rebel Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda. The FDLR includes combatants who participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

M23 insurgency in eastern Congo has intensified in January with the rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the United Nations to warn of the risk of a broader regional war.

M23 insurgency has intensified, with the Rwanda-backed rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the U.N. to warn of the risk of a broader war. South Africa said nine of its peacekeepers were killed in fighting.

The M23 rebel group has made significant territorial gains along the border with Rwanda in recent weeks, closing in on Goma, the provincial capital.

Heavy artillery fire and gunshots echoed through the besieged Congolese city of Goma on Monday as DR Congo forces battled militia fighters and Rwandan