A resident has been speaking about her terrifying ordeal in Goma as heavy artillery and gunfire echoes through the besieged city, AFP news agency reports.

"We are in our beds because we are afraid," Goma resident Lucie told AFP by telephone.

"We can hear the shooting outside our homes. We cannot leave," she added.

Another resident told Reuters news agency that a rocket landed close to a church behind his home in Goma's north-eastern Majengo neighbourhood.

"We can still hear gunfire coming from the airport," he said.

Verified video shows looting at Goma airportpublished at 16:01 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

16:01 GMT 27 January

As events unfolded in Goma, BBC Verify has been analysing videos shared on social media.

One shows people looting warehouses at the city’s airport, running away with loaded sacks. It’s not clear what they contained. We matched the buildings seen in the video to buildings at the airport as shown on Google Earth imagery.

Another video shows people fleeing from a jail in the area around Goma airport as smoke rises in the background and with heavy gunfire audible.

Local reports describe prisoners escaping from this jail. We have confirmed the video was filmed at the prison, by identifying the buildings in the area and a nearby church.

Image source, Getty Images

It is not just politicians and aid agencies making public statements about the current conflict - footballers from DR Congo's national team have also weighed in.

Chancel Mbemba, who plays for top French team Marseille, wrote on social media platform X, external: "Solidarity with Goma".

He also posted a photograph of DR Congo's squad from last year, in which they expressed solidarity with victims of the conflict by covering their mouths with their left hand and pointing their fingers to their temples, mimicking a gun.

Striker Cédric Bakambu also used X to address the recent escalation in violence.

"Peace is more powerful than war #PrayForCongo #FreeCongo," he wrote.

Read more:

• DR Congo squad use spotlight to call for peace in country

Image source, AFP

Earlier we reported that, according to Kenyan President William Ruto, his Congolese and Rwandan counterparts had agreed to attend an emergency summit.

Ruto also told a press conference: "We do not see, from where I sit, a possibility of a military solution to the challenges that face eastern DRC.

"A direct engagement with M23 and all the other stakeholders in the theatre in eastern DRC is a necessity."

Kenya currently heads the eight-member East African Community (EAC), of which both DR Congo and Rwanda are members.

Image source, AFP

A UN peacekeeping mission has been in place since 1999. The current force – known as Monusco – is made up of more than 10,000 troops.

However, of these, only the Force Intervention Brigade is allowed to carry out offensive operations against armed groups. It was this force that helped defeat the M23 in 2013.

Monusco has been the target of anger from ordinary Congolese who see it as failing to do its job. President Félix Tshisekedi, deeming the mission a failure, had asked it to leave by the end of last year.

But the departure was delayed and in December, the mission was extended for another year.

The Southern African Development Community (Sadc), a regional grouping of 16 countries, has also deployed a military force to eastern DR Congo, but it has been unable to halt the rebel advance.

South Africa said nine of its soldiers had been killed while deterring the rebel advance on Goma.

Three Malawian soldiers have also been killed, the UN said, while Uruguay's army said one of its soldiers – as part of Monusco - had died.

Prosper, a local journalist in Goma, says that some government troops are fighting with M23 rebels in parts of the city.

“We're really worried," he tells the BBC. Shops and schools have been closed since last Thursday. Taxis are not working.

“I feel insecure. I live in a street, far from downtown," he says, adding that some people have gathered on the roads to try and see what was going on.

"Any time, fights can take a turn of the worse. And as a reporter, I do not know what can happen in the coming hours."

He says there were pro-government militia fighters shooting in the air on Monday morning. Referring to the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame some of them were shouting: "Kagame, you're evil".

He's also seen M23 fighters.

As we reported this morning, the likes of France and Rwanda have been weighing in on DR Congo's escalating conflict.

In South Africa, opposition politician Julius Malema accused the West of being behind the troubles in mineral-rich DR Congo.

"If there is any country that was messed up right from the beginning it was DRC. They have been destabilising that country for many years because they want those minerals," Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), told South African broadcaster SABC.

DR Congo has vast supplies of minerals such as gold, tin, copper and coltan, which is a key ingredient in the manufacturing of mobile phones.

The country was initially exploited for its mineral wealth by Belgium, which colonised DR Congo in 1908.

Foreign multinationals continue to mine for key minerals in DR Congo.

If you're just joining us, here's a round-up of the latest developments in Goma, the main city in eastern DR Congo, which rebel forces say they have captured:

• Gunfire has been heard in the city throughout the day, with residents saying they are trapped in their homes
• The government has vowed that it will not give up "a single centimetre" of territory to the M23 rebels
• However, some Congolese soldiers have surrendered to UN peacekeepers or to Rwandan forces across the border
• Water and electricity supplies in Goma have also been cut off, but it is unclear by whom
• Kenya's President William Ruto has called an emergency summit of regional leaders to discuss the conflict
• He says that the leaders of both DR Congo and Rwanda, which is accused of backing the rebels, have agreed to attend the summit that will be held on Wednesday.

Kenya's President William Ruto has been speaking about the deteriorating security situation in DR Congo after Rwandan-backed rebels entered the key city of Goma.

Ruto said that the presidents of DR Congo and Rwanda - Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame respectively - have agreed to attend an emergency summit on Wednesday to discuss the conflict.

An aid worker has told the BBC that their office in Goma is now left with only three out of 12 staff after colleagues were evacuated to nighbouring Rwanda.

"I am trapped here, I can’t leave even if I wanted to. I hear the M23 are trying to take the main radio station in the city," Jean Paul Tumwagirize said.

He that most of his team members were unable to reach their families in Goma because of power cuts and their phones could not be charged.

Kenyan private airline Jambojet has suspended all flights from Nairobi to Goma after rebels entered the city in eastern DR Congo.

The airline said "increasing safety concerns and the closure of airspace" was the reason for the immediate suspension.

The airline added that its Customer Service team is reaching out to affected passengers.

Here are images capturing the unfolding events:

Image source, Moise Niyonzima / EPA

Image source, Moise Niyonzima / EPA

Image source, Jospin Mwisha / AFP

Image source, Jean Bizimana / Reuters

Ian Wafula
Africa security correspondent, BBC News, Nairobi

A resident in Goma has told the BBC that he has been locked in his house since Sunday evening and "all we can hear [are] gunshots around the city".

“We are not sure if M23 has captured Goma but they have been seen walking in parts of town," he said.

There is no power in the city as well, he added.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Throughout January the M23 advance has been rapid.

Perhaps deliberately timed to take advantage of when the world was distracted by politics in America and conflict in the Middle East.

By the time the UN Security Council raised the alarm, the Rwandan-backed rebels were already knocking at the door of Goma.

Rwanda’s government, led by President Paul Kagame, claims the conflict is a matter of national security, aimed at protecting Rwanda from Hutu rebels operating out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

But Kinshasa sees that as a convenient excuse and accuses Kigali of trying to annex part of eastern DR Congo to exploit its vast mineral reserve.

What happens next will partly depend on whether Rwanda faces any threat of sanctions.

Earlier today we mentioned reports of a mass escape from a prison in Goma.

A video, posted by DR Congo's UN-backed media outlet Radio Okapi, external, appears to show people fleeing from the prison.

The footage shows two columns of thick black smoke rising from the building, while gunshots, shouts and cheers can be heard in the background.

Paul Njie
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

DR Congo's government says it is working to avoid “carnage” in Goma, but it will not give up any territory following claims by rebels that they have seized the city.

In a statement posted on X, external, Communication Minister Patrick Muyaya urged the population to stay at home for their safety.

He also urged people to refrain from engaging in vandalism or looting, and not to give in to the “manipulative propaganda of Rwanda”.

Muyaya also repeated previous statements alleging that Rwandan troops are in Goma fighting alongside the M23 rebels.

“We are all guardians of our territory,” Muyaya said, adding that “not a single centimetre will be given up”.

Image source, AFP

What is happening now?

After a rapid advance, fighters from the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 rebel group have reportedly captured much of the eastern city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Goma is a vital trading hub, and within reach of mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand, such as gold, tin and coltan.

How long has fighting in DR Congo been going on for?

The mineral-rich east has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years.

Various armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation.

The instability has sucked in neighbouring countries to devastating effect – notoriously in the 1990s when two huge conflicts, dubbed Africa’s World Wars, resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

Who are the M23?

The M23 formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the ethnic Tutsi population in the east of DR Congo, which had long complained of persecution and discrimination.

The rebel group was expelled from DR Congo, but in 2021, after years of exile, they took up arms again.

What are the accusations against Rwanda?

The DR Congo and the UN say the M23 is backed by Rwanda. The Rwandan authorities neither confirm nor deny this.

Last year, a UN experts report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were in DR Congo, helping the M23.

In a statement on Sunday, Rwanda did not explicitly deny that it backed the M23 but instead said that the fighting near its border was a “serious threat” to its “security and territorial integrity”.

It added that Rwanda was being scapegoated and blamed the recent fighting on DR Congo, saying it refused to enter into talks with the M23.

Is anyone else involved?

UN peacekeepers are supporting the DR Congolese army's efforts to curb the M23.

An agreed withdrawal of the UN mission, known as Monusco, from DR Congo has been paused due to the deteriorating security situation.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional grouping of 16 countries, has also deployed a military force to eastern DR Congo, but it has been unable to halt the rebel advance.

South Africa said nine of its soldiers were killed while deterring the rebel advance on Goma.

Three Malawian soldiers were also killed, the UN said, while Uruguay's army said one of its soldiers had died.

Uruguay is part of the UN force in eastern DR Congo.

• You can read more about the conflict here

The Uruguayan army, which is part of the UN peacekeeping force in Goma, says that some Congolese forces have surrendered their arms to its troops.

The Uruguayan force also shared photos of men wearing civilian clothes and military uniforms and who seemed to be registering with them.

The M23 rebels had ordered soldiers to surrender their weapons and had imposed a 48-hour deadline that ended early on Monday.

The rebels also urged Goma residents to remain calm and for Congolese government forces to assemble at a central stadium.

The handing over of the weapons to the Uruguayan troops happened late on Sunday before the expiry of the deadline and before the Rwandan-backed rebels entered the city.

The official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cafod, has described the situation in Goma as "very serious".

"Our staff on the ground tell us water and electricity have been cut off and food prices are rising. They say the city has been forced into shutdown by the fighting," it said in a statement.

Cafod added that the humanitarian needs in Goma are huge.

"Our staff are responding with what they have and we will be scaling up our response as soon as possible. We urge all parties to ensure that access to humanitarian aid can continue in Goma," it added.

Paul Njie
BBC News

Image source, EPA

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has warned that the besieged Congolese city of Goma, which M23 rebels claim to have captured, is on the brink of falling.

Speaking earlier today in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Mr. Barrot condemned the M23’s offensive, insisting “it must stop.”

“As Goma prepares to fall, France expresses its solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo and its territorial integrity,” he said.

The Tutsi-led rebels have claimed they have "liberated" the city, but Congolese authorities insist they still control strategic parts of Goma.

Regional tensions have intensified as Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of deploying troops across the border over the weekend to support the M23 in their assault on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

Rwanda denies backing the rebels but says that the ongoing conflict poses a national security threat, prompting what it describes as a “sustained defensive posture”.