Congolese troops pushed back an attempted overnight advance by Rwanda-backed rebels on the eastern city of Goma, two Congolese army sources said on Saturday, after the sound of nearby heavy bombardment rocked the city in the early hours.

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 DR Congo army and M23 fighters clashed outside Goma on Friday as the UK, United States and France urged citizens to leave the main city in the country's volatile east, warning the situation could deteriorate rapidly.

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.

The UN Security Council will convene an emergency meeting on Sunday over deadly clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, after Kinshasa withdrew its diplomats from Kigali as Rwanda-backed rebe

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.

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.

M23 and government. forces. Zones occupied. by M23. 200 km. kinshasa. Rwanda. Lake Kivu. Map data: OSM, NASA. Sources: military and humanitari

There has been intensified fighting around Goma, North Kivu's largest city, with increasing casualties and a wave of displaced civilians.

Nine South African peacekeepers have been killed in clashes with M23 forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including two from UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, the defence ministry said Saturday.

M23 insurgency in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has intensified in January with the M23 rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the UN to warn of the risk of a broa