A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

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.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for a urgent cease-fire in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo saying Washington was "deeply troubled" by a recent escalation in the fighting.

After 3 UN peacekeepers were killed in eastern Congo, Guterres emphasised that attacks against UN staff may constitute a war crime United Nations chief Antonio Guterres called on Sunday on Rwandan forces to withdraw from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and halt support for fighters advancing on the key Congolese city of Goma.

She described the move as “a frontal aggression, a declaration of war, which no longer hides itself behind diplomatic manoeuvres”. Her comments came as M23 rebels, who have vowed to defence Tutsi interests,

The United States urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider measures to halt an offensive by Rwandan troops and M23 rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a conflict there escalates.

The United States on Tuesday called on the United Nations Security Council to consider measures to stop an offensive by Rwandan troops and M23 rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a conflict there escalates.

Fighters from the Kigali-backed M23 Movement have been locked in fighting with the Congolese army at the gates of the city.Accusing Rwanda of issuing a "declaration of war" by sending more troops over the border,

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, early Monday, as the United Nations described a “mass panic” among its 2 million people and Congo’s government said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where fierce fighting raged as Kigali-backed fighters closed in on the major city of Goma.

UN Secretary General António Guterres has called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo's territory and on the M23 rebel group to stop its advance on the eastern city of Goma amid intense fighting. At a UN Security Council ...