France expresses its solidarity regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo and condemns actions by Rwanda in the country, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.

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.

M23 rebels said they have advanced into Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced.

Heavy artillery fire could be heard in Goma on Monday, hours after Rwandan troops and fighters from the M23 rebel group entered the capital of North Kivu Province. The UN has warned of a looming crisis.

Army spokesman Ronald Rwivanga said "five civilians have died and 25 severely wounded and more were lightly injured" on the outskirts of Rwandan border town Gisenyi.

Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo are closing in on a key city in the mineral-rich region aided by neighboring Rwanda’s army, the head of a peacekeeping mission told United Nations Security Council members during an emergency meeting on Sunday.

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.

Rwandan backed rebels have entered the city of Goma, a key city in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Could the mineral rich region be in danger of tipping into all out regional conflict?

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.

According to various media reports, Rwandan troops have concentrated on the border with the Congolese and are ready to invade their neighbouring country. They are allegedly already rushing to support the Tutsi rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) to take one of the important cities of the DRC, Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

Troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have reportedly exchanged fire along their shared border in the eastern city of Goma. This escalation has deepened an already dire humanitarian crisis in a region scarred by two devastating wars between 1996 and 2003.