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.

Angolan President Joao Lourenco has urged warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to return to peace talks, which collapsed last year, the foreign ministry said.

North Kivu is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Congolese rebels said on Sunday they had taken Goma, the biggest city in the east of the mineral-rich country, after a lightning advance that has forced thousands of people to flee and fuelled concerns of a regional war.

The violence in eastern Congo has escalated. Near Goma in North Kivu, 13 peacekeepers were killed by M23 rebels, while Congo has broken off relations with Rwanda. The North Kivu region is rich in gold and coltan.

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

Many Congolese see the rebel advance as an invasion of their country by a foreign power in an attempt to seize land and Congo’s valuable rare minerals.

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

Turkish President, who hosted hosting Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, reiterated the need for the warring parties to find a peaceful resolution.

Fighting has escalated sharply in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have seized key towns and are closing in on the city of Goma, the government’s last stronghold in the North Kivu province,

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where fierce fighting raged as Kigali-backed fighters closed in on

Angolan President Joao Lourenco has urged warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to return to peace talks, which collapsed last year, the foreign ministry said.