Heavy artillery fire rocked the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday as France warned the capital of the mineral-rich region was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops. Repeated explosions from heavy artillery and intense bursts of gunfire echoed across central Goma on Monday,

The M23 armed group and Rwandan soldiers entered the centre of Goma on Sunday night after weeks of advancing on the main city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province.

M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo were reported to have taken the key eastern city of Goma in fierce fighting with government forces that sent streams of refugees fleeing area communities.