DR Congo Rebel Advance Poses 'Real Threat'

Rebel fighters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have advanced to the outskirts of the city of Goma after pushing back UN peacekeepers and government troops.

Foreign Secretary William Hague urged British nationals to flee the eastern city after four days of fierce fighting.

The rebels have advanced closer than at any time in their eight-month uprising to Goma - the provincial capital of North Kivu, which is a centre for aid operations in the region.

The 23 March Movement (M23) rebels are said to be within two kilometres of the city and have closed in on Goma's airport.

An M23 spokesman was reported to have said his forces were ready to seize the city, which has a population of one million, if they came under attack from government troops.

According to unconfirmed sources, members of the Congolese army and local officials have already started to flee the city. However, a spokesman for the Congolese army denied the claims.

In New York, UN peacekeeping spokesman Kieran Dwyer said UN forces were supporting the Congolese army by firing artillery and rockets at the rebels.

UN peacekeeping troops have a mandate to protect Congolese civilians

"The situation in Goma is extremely tense," he said. "There is a real threat that the city could fall into the M23's hands."

The UN has about 6,700 troops in Nord Kivu province. About 1,500 of them are in Goma, where some 625 UN staff have been moved into special protection centres.

The UN Security Council called for an immediate end to hostilities and UN leader Ban Ki-moon said UN troops would remain in Goma and "continue all efforts to robustly implement its mandate to the fullest of its capabilities with regard to the protection of civilians".

More than 150 rebels and two soldiers have been killed since fighting intensified on Thursday - the most serious since July, when UN helicopters last went into action against the M23.

Mr Hague expressed "deep concern" at the worsening violence in the country and called on rebel forces to engage in talks to avoid further killings.

The fighting has left thousands of people displaced

"I call for a cessation of hostilities and for all parties to engage to resolve this crisis without further bloodshed," he said in a statement, adding: "Any British nationals in Goma should leave."

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement: "I call on the M23 to immediately stop the military offensive against the city of Goma. Any support to the M23 in violation of the sanctions regime and the arms embargo must stop."

She also expressed the EU's concern for civilians caught up in the fighting, calling on all sides to give unrestricted access to aid workers.

The M23 rebels are ethnic Tutsi former soldiers who mutinied in April after the failure of a 2009 peace deal that integrated them into the regular army.

UN experts have said Rwanda and Uganda back the rebel group, a charge fiercely denied by both countries.

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