The M23 rebels announced the capture of Goma in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons expired.

Rwandan-backed fighters closed in on eastern Congo's largest city of Goma on Sunday (January 26), forcing thousands of civilians to flee and grounding flights from the local airport as government forces battled to stop the rebels seizing the city.

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.