Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), told a briefing in Geneva colleagues had reported “heavy small arms fire and mortar fire across the city and the presence of many dead bodies in the streets”.

Kenya has announced a virtual crisis summit, but Congolese state media says President Felix Tshisekedi will not attend.

The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.

President William Ruto, in his role as chair of the East African Community (EAC), has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid the worsening conflict.

The capture of the city has cut off the supply of goods to North Kivu, an emerging market for East African Community (EAC) member states.

Jambojet, Kenya's budget airline, has suspended flights between Nairobi and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), due to escalating conflict and the closure of Goma's airspace.

The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade.

Gunfire broke out on Sunday night in the centre of the besieged Congolese city Goma after the Democratic Republic of Congo accused neighbouring Rwanda of sending more troops across the

Speaking to BBC Newshour while being locked down in a UN bunker in the city, the deputy head of the UN force, Vivian van de Perre, said the M23 rebels had "established" themselves in Goma, but were still facing "pockets of resistance".

Just over three years after the resurgence of the M23 in eastern DR Congo, the rebel group’s war with a government coalition saw its biggest escalation on Sunday, January 26, when the rebels entered Goma,

Amid tragic escalation of violence in Congo, Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Goma has assured the people of the church's closeness and compassion, as rebels entered the eastern city of Goma, forcing thousands to flee and triggering wave of looting and deaths.