Tens of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are fleeing towns in the east of the country as rebel forces close in on the city of Goma. Explosions and gunshots were heard in city - home to more than a million people - late on Sunday evening,

Gunfire rang out across parts of Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), hours after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said they had seized it despite the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to the offensive.

Rwanda-backed rebels have captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, as the United Nations reported “mass panic” with the government dubbing the insurgency a “declaration of war.” The city’s capture came following a 48-hour deadline imposed by the M23 rebel group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.