The M23 armed group has seized further territory in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and on Thursday was continuing to tighten its grip on provincial capital Goma, which is almost surrounded by fighting.

The military governor of North Kivu Province in eastern DR Congo was killed in the battlefield on Thursday, January 23, according to M23 rebels. Maj Gen Peter Chirimwami, who was based in provincial capital of Goma,

Displaced Congolese make their way along the road leading to the centre of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group continues to gain ground.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken over the eastern town of Minova, according to various sources. The fall of the city puts the rebels within 40km (25 miles) of provincial capital, Goma - a key city that lies close to the border with Rwanda.

Many Congolese see the rebel advance as an invasion of their country by a foreign power in an attempt to seize land and Congo’s valuable rare minerals.

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Panic spread in eastern Congo's main city on Thursday, with M23 rebels steadily inching closer to Goma and seizing a nearby town as they battle the Congolese army. Bombs were heard going off in the city's distant outskirts and hundreds of wounded civilians were brought in to the main hospital from the area of the fighting.

Laden with just the possessions they can carry, thousands of displaced people have reached the outskirts of the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fleeing a rapid M23 rebel advance that has taken more territory than ever before.

The Congolese army says several towns that fell to armed groups in the eastern North Kivu and South Kivu provinces ... rich region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of ...

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.