The governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained during fighting on the front line, a military spokesman said Friday, as M23 rebels closed in on the provincial capital.

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,

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government says the Rwanda-backed rebels’ advance constitutes a “declaration of war."

Goma, Congo — Residents in eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, were fleeing on Monday after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces as fighting escalated despite calls from the U.N. Security Council for the insurgents to withdraw.

The M23 group is one of about 100 armed factions vying for a foothold in eastern Congo in one of Africa’s longest wars, which has displaced 4.5 million people.

GOMA, Congo — The governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries ... Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Christina Malkia in Kinshasa ...

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

The security situation in the city of Goma is deteriorating, and journalists can no longer report, the media has been forced into silence, there is no stable access to electricity or the internet. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is urgently alerting the international community to this crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and calling on the parties involved in conflict to respect and protect the public’s right to information.

A rebel alliance spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia said it had seized the lakeside city of more than 2 million people.

Fighting has escalated in recent days despite calls from the U.N. Security Council for the insurgents to withdraw.

Rwanda-backed rebels claim they have captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, as the United Nations describe a “mass panic” among its 2 million people and Congo’s government say the rebel

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