Video showed inmates escaping a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels entered the eastern city of Goma. Thousands of civilians and Congolese soldiers fled to neighboring Rwanda in the latest escalation of conflict in the region.

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.

Residents in eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma are fleeing after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces. Fighting has escalated in recent days despite

Residents in eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma are fleeing after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces.

Heavy artillery fire could be heard in Goma on Monday, hours after Rwandan troops and fighters from the M23 rebel group entered the capital of North Kivu Province. The UN has warned of a looming crisis.

Ethnic Tutsi-led M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have infiltrated Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, escalating tensions and renewing fears of regional war. The conflict stems from the fallout of Rwanda's 1994 genocide,

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.

Fighting in Congo has escalated in recent days despite calls from the UN Security Council for the insurgents to withdraw

Heavy artillery fire rocked the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday as France warned the capital of the mineral-rich region was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops. Repeated explosions from heavy artillery and intense bursts of gunfire echoed across central Goma on Monday,

Congo has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels and government forces rages around the key eastern city of Goma.

Troops from Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have been firing at each other across their shared border in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, where Rwandan-backed rebels launched an offensive,