Panic spread in Goma on Thursday, with M23 rebels steadily inching closer to the city in eastern Congo as they battle the Congolese army. Bombs were heard going off in the distant outskirts and hundreds of wounded civilians were brought in to the main hospital from nearby towns and villages.

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.

The governor of Congo's North Kivu province, Maj. Gen Peter Cirimwami, has died following injuries from front-line battles as M23 rebels approach Goma. The rebel group has seized multiple towns, causing over 178,

Luggage on their backs, they trudged all Wednesday morning along the road leading to downtown Goma, fleeing the advancing fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken over the key eastern trading town of Minova, according to various sources. The fall of the city puts the rebels within 40km (25 miles) of provincial capital, Goma, which lies close to the border with Rwanda.

The M23 rebel group in Democratic Republic of Congo has seized the eastern town of Minova, a main supply route for the provincial capital Goma, a local governor and a rebel leader said on Tuesday as the army reported fighting on all fronts.

Rebels from the Rwanda-backed M23 have killed a military governor as they advanced through eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, reports say. Fighting between the M23 and DR Congo's army has intensified since the start of the year,