M23 militia fighters, alongside Rwandan troops, are pushing into the eastern DR Congo city of Goma, capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu province.

France's Foreign Ministry said that Congo's territorial integrity was "not negotiable" after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took the eastern city of Goma. M23 rebels said they would march "all the way to Kinshasa.

While M23 rebels closed in on Goma, a major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the US, UK and France on Friday called on their nationals to leave the area. Clashes between the Congolese army and rebels have triggered a humanitarian crisis as diplomatic efforts to mediate talks between Congolese and Rwandan leaders have failed.

In just a few days, rebel fighters and Rwandan soldiers succeeded in taking the major city in eastern Congo. This lightning offensive was prepared in Kigali.

Gunfire rang out early on Monday across parts of Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, hours after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said they had taken control of the city despite the United Nations Security Council's calling for an end to the offensive.

Rwanda is illegally occupying the Democratic Republic of Congo and attempting to orchestrate regime change, the country's foreign minister has told the BBC. Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner said the world had allowed Rwandan President Paul Kagame decades of impunity and failure to hold him accountable for violating international law.