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.

The resource-rich eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have been plagued by conflicts for three decades, with the Rwanda-backed M23 emerging as one of the most powerful armed groups in recent years.

Advances being made by the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo are "heightening the threat of a regional war," according to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has formally recalled its diplomats from Rwanda and demanded that Rwanda halts its diplomatic activities in the Congolese capital within 48 hours. The directive came through a letter verified by a foreign ministry official,

A spokesman for the Democratic Republic of Congo's army said Saturday: "Rwanda is determined to seize the city of Goma" in the east of the country.

On Sunday, January 26, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be held, the newspaper Le Monde reports.

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.

Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left six United Nations peacekeepers dead, UN officials said Saturday.

At least 12 peacekeepers, including two from the UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, have been killed in fighting in eastern

Thirteen soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in clashes with rebels from the M23 group. The South African military said nine of its soldiers died helping to push back a rebel advance on the city of Goma,

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,