Rwandan-backed rebels captured the city of Goma in eastern Congo early Monday, according to a press release by the M23 rebel movement. The city's capture came following a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

Authorities in eastern Congo say M23 rebels have seized the town of Minova, a key supply route for the provincial capital, Goma

The United Nations Security Council on Sunday demanded that M23 rebel forces stop an ongoing offensive and advance towards Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and that "external forces" in the region immediately withdraw.

Thousands of people have fled their homes in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as clashes between M23 rebels and government forces intensify. The Rwanda-backed armed group has captured a string of towns over the last few days,

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, early Monday, as the United Nations described a “mass panic” among its 2 million people and Congo’s government said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war.

A three-year insurgency in Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east has intensified since the start of this year, with M23 rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before and vowing to take the largest eastern city,

In the last 48 hours, two U.N. peacekeepers from South Africa and one from Uruguay were killed and 11 peacekeepers were injured and hospitalized.

The city’s capture came following a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.