The DR Congo army and M23 fighters clashed outside Goma on Friday as the UK, United States and France urged citizens to leave the main city in the country's volatile east, warning the situation could deteriorate rapidly.

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.

Civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are at increasing risk as the abusive M23 armed group, supported by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), approaches Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma.

File photo taken on April 11 2024 shows Peter Cirimwami the military governor of North Kivu in an interview in Goma

Fighting between M23 rebels and Democratic Republic of Congo’s army intensified on Friday with the militia threatening to take the trading hub of Goma and the United Nations warning of a regional war.

While M23 rebels closed in on Goma, a major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the US, UK and France on Friday called on their nationals to leave the area. Clashes between the Congolese army and rebels have triggered a humanitarian crisis as diplomatic efforts to mediate talks between Congolese and Rwandan leaders have failed.

Major General Peter Cirimwami Nkuba, the military governor of Congo's North Kivu province, has died from gunshot wounds amid a rebel offensive by M23 near Goma. The escalating violence has displaced 400,

Recent clashes between government forces and M23 have forced thousands of residents to flee provincial capital Goma - Anadolu Ajansı

Panic is spreading in Goma in eastern Congo as M23 rebels encircle the city, battling Congo’s army. Many civilians have been wounded in the crossfire, stretching the main hospital.

The EU issued a statement expressing deep concern about the continued escalation of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), aggravated by the renewed offensive of the M23 supported by the Rwandan Armed Forces.