The UN chief Antonio Guterres said Rwanda was backing M23 rebels as they advance towards the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. DW has more.

After 3 UN peacekeepers were killed in eastern Congo, Guterres emphasised that attacks against UN staff may constitute a war crime United Nations chief Antonio Guterres called on Sunday on Rwandan forces to withdraw from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and halt support for fighters advancing on the key Congolese city of 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.

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

Antonio Guterres calls on M23 rebels to 'immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas,' says spokesman - Anadolu Ajansı

Tens of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are fleeing towns in the east of the country as rebel forces close in on the city of Goma. Explosions and gunshots were heard in city - home to more than a million people - late on Sunday evening,

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Rwandan troops to exit the Democratic Republic of Congo and cease aiding M23 rebels nearing Goma. The conflict, escalating in DRC's east, has claimed multiple peacekeepers' lives and threatens the city's million-plus residents.

Gunshots rang out Sunday night in the centre of the besieged Congolese city of Goma, AFP journalists heard, after the Democratic Republic of Congo accused Rwanda of sending fresh troops across the border to capture the strategic hub.

Rwandan backed rebels have entered the city of Goma, a key city in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Could the mineral rich region be in danger of tipping into all out regional conflict?

Sadly, combatants from M23 have killed the military governor of North Kivu, and some 400,000 people have been displaced in North and South Kivu."

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 rebels advanced on the key city of Goma.

Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left six United Nations peacekeepers dead, UN officials said Saturday.