Hundreds of people attempted to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda on Sunday, as heavy gunfire resonated across the key eastern Congolese city of Goma, just a few miles from the frontline.

Spread This NewsBy newZWire  THE United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on Sunday over deadly clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after Kinshasa withdrew its diplomats from Kigali as Rwanda-backed rebels advanced on the key city of Goma.

Rwandan diplomats say their army is not deployed in the DRC, but if it was it would be to protect the Congolese Tutsi community and their own borders against the rebel Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda. The FDLR includes combatants who participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, early Monday, as the United Nations described a “mass panic” among its 2 million people and Congo’s government said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war.

M23 insurgency in eastern Congo has intensified in January with the rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the United Nations to warn of the risk of a broader regional war.

Rwanda said Sunday that clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where Kigali-backed fighters are locked in battle with the Congolese army, required it to maintain a "sustained defensive posture".

Congo has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting involving Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Congolese forces intensifies near Goma. Accusations fly between nations, with the UN and Congolese government citing Rwanda's support of rebels.

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday called for the United Nations to sanction Rwanda, accusing its neighbour of issuing a "declaration of war" by sending more troops over the

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

In a tit-for-tat action, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are recalling diplomats from each other's capitals. The actions come amid intense fighting between Congolese forces and Rwandan-backed fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,

Rwanda-backed rebels claim they have captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, as the United Nations describe a “mass panic” among its 2 million people and Congo’s government say the rebel advance was a “declaration of war.