NZULO, Congo (AP) — The M23 rebel group's advance toward eastern Congo's largest city has displaced over 178,000 people in the past two weeks, the United Nations said, as the fighters closed in on Goma on the border with Rwanda. The M23 has been making significant advances, though it was unclear whether the rebels will try to capture Goma, which they seized in 2012 and controlled for over a week. Congolese authorities said Tuesday its fighters seized the town of Minova, on a key supply route for Goma, a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

DR Congo deploys heavy artillery as it battles M23 rebels in the eastern region, where intense clashes threaten stability.

Hundreds of displaced people arrived in Goma on Wednesday (January 22), fleeing fighting in Minova after the town fell to M23 rebels. Trevor Koroll reports.

GOMA, Congo (AP) — 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." The M23 rebels announced the city's capture in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons. Early Monday morning, gunfire was heard throughout the city, according to two aid workers sheltering there who were not authorized to speak to the media.

M23 rebels and allied Rwandan forces entered the outskirts of Goma on Sunday and the airport in the key eastern city was no longer in use, the top U.N. official in Dr Congo said. View on euronews