M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo were reported to have taken the key eastern city of Goma in fierce fighting with government forces that sent streams of refugees fleeing area communities.

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.

Fleeing prisoners streamed from the torched jail as Rwanda-backed rebels claim they have captured the strategic city

A Chinese envoy on Sunday strongly condemned the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for attacking local people and the UN peacekeepers, demanding that it immediately stop the offensive.

The UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, is relocating administrative staff and others in North Kivu that can continue performing their duties from elsewhere in response to the deteriorating security situation and intensifying hostilities involving the non-State armed group M23, a Rwandan-backed movement fighting against the Congolese Government.

Intensifying hostilities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo involving the non-state armed group M23 have caused further mass displacement in the mineral-rich region, with fears that the regional capital Goma could come under attack, UN agencies warned on Friday.

Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma.

Recent clashes between government forces and M23 have forced thousands of residents to flee provincial capital Goma - Anadolu Ajansı

The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.

Press Release - In recent weeks, the armed conflict between the M23/AFC and the Congolese army, backed by their allies, has flared up again in the province of North Kivu and spread to the neighbouring province of South Kivu.

Rwandan-backed rebels marched into east Congo's largest city Goma on Monday and Congolese troops exchanged fire with the Rwandan military across the border, in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict for more than a decade.

In recent weeks, the armed conflict between the M23/AFC and the Congolese army, backed by their allies, has flared up again in the province of North Kivu and spread to the neighbouring province of South Kivu.