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,

Thousands of people have fled their homes in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as clashes between M23 rebels and government forces intensify. The Rwanda-backed armed group has captured a string of towns over the last few days,

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.