Laden with just the possessions they can carry, thousands of displaced people have reached the outskirts of the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fleeing a rapid M23 rebel advance that has taken more territory than ever before.

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga is currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) calling on South African soldiers at the same time as the United Nations (UN) has it the security situation in the country’s east is “deteriorating”.

NZULO, Congo — The M23 rebel group's advance toward eastern Congo's largest city has displaced over 178,000 people in the past two weeks, the United Nations said, as the fighters closed in on Goma on the border with Rwanda.

M23 rebels tightened their stranglehold over key trading routes to the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after taking more towns Monday and Tuesday, Congo’s army said.

The army acknowledged Tuesday a "breakthrough" by the M23 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where the armed group fighting government forces has seized a trading hub that supplies the city of Goma.

The Congolese army says several towns that fell to armed groups in the eastern North Kivu and South Kivu provinces have been recaptured by government forces.

A bout 120,000 children have been forced from their homes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the start of the year as a wave of horrifying violence hits villages [1] with some children becoming separated from their parents and one town cut off, said Save the Children.

More than 230,000 people have fled surging violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of the year, the United Nations said Friday, labelling it one of the

The last two towns before Goma, a provincial capital in Congo’s east, have just fallen to M23 rebels. They last captured the city in 2012.

The Congolese army acknowledged on 21 January the advance of M23 rebels in South Kivu province. Backed by Rwanda’s army, the rebels have captured a key town and are trying to isolate Goma as the Angola-led mediation efforts stall.

The M23 armed group has seized further territory in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and on Thursday was continuing to tighten its grip on provincial capital Goma, which is almost surrounded by fighting.