France expresses its solidarity regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo and condemns actions by Rwanda in the country, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday. "France strongly condemns the offensive led by the M23,

People who fled M23 rebels around Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, have found themselves with nowhere left to go.

Rebels claim to have captured the key city of Goma in the DRC, as the decades-long conflict becomes even more volatile. Sky News takes a look at what's going on.

The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.

STORY: Rwandan-backed rebels marched into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's largest city on Monday, according to witnesses.That's prompted thousands of people, including Congolese soldiers, to flee across the border into Rwanda.

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

Japan has sent the Democratic Republic of the Congo 50,000 doses of a vaccine against mpox, previously known as monkeypox.

Congolese rebels and allied Rwandan forces entered the outskirts of Goma on Sunday and the airport in the key eastern city was no longer in use, the top UN official in the country said. Thousands fled the fighting that also killed at least 13 peacekeepers.

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.

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.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda, accusing it of fuelling the rebellion. At least 13 soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the DRC have been killed in clashes with M23 rebels,