In recent weeks, the armed conflict in the DRC between the M23/AFC and the Congolese army, backed by their allies, has flared up again in the province of North Kivu and spread to the neighbouring province of South Kivu.

Fierce fighting rages on in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, as rebels and the army exchange fire. "All we can hear [are] gunshots around the city," one Goma resident, who has been trapped in his house since the weekend,

Rwanda-backed fighters controlled most of the besieged DR Congo city of Goma on Wednesday as residents slowly emerged from their homes after days of deadly fighting in the key mineral trading hub.The M23 armed group and Rwandan troops have seized the airport and most of the centre and neighbourhoods since marching into the eastern provincial capital on Sunday after a lightning offensive.

The fate of the economic and trading hub Goma is still unclear. UN officials have said the situation is chaotic with fighting continuing in parts of the city. A Congolese government official has said the army is still in control of most of the regional capital,