Residents of the besieged city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, say they are gripped by fear as gunshots continue to ring out around their homes, days after rebel forces claimed they had taken over.

By Yassin Kombi and Sonia Rolley GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Rebels seized the airport of east Congo's largest city Goma on Tuesday, potentially cutting off the main route for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people,

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped.

After a lightning offensive, M23 rebels now control Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for a urgent cease-fire in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo saying Washington was "deeply troubled" by a recent escalation in the fighting.

The three-year insurgency by the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 has intensified, and the U.N. warned the violence could spill into a wider war.

A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

Our peacekeepers are also planning on sending out patrols today in Goma to assess the situation, to conduct resupplies and assess routes in the capital,' says spokesman - Anadolu Ajansı

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,

UNICEF on Wednesday sought financial aid to the tune of $22 million amid conflict in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

M23 rebels claim they now control the Congolese city of Goma—an act Congo's government described as a 'declaration of war.'