The M23 rebel group has made significant territorial gains along the border with Rwanda in recent weeks, closing in on Goma, the provincial capital of around 2 million people and a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

The DRC has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda and at least 13 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers have been killed in the fighting that has also displaced thousands of civilians.

Earlier in the week, the rebels seized Sake, 27 kilometers (16 miles) from Goma — the government’s last stronghold in the North Kivu province — as concerns mounted that the city could soon fall.

"We are going to Goma, but I heard that there are bombs in Goma too, so now we don't know where to go,” said one displaced person.

The UN Security Council moved up an emergency meeting on the escalating violence to Sunday.

Analysts say the fall of Goma would mark a huge victory for the rebels but also spell catastrophic consequences for the local population.

The DRC, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.

It's one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region, where a long-running conflict has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

(AP)