A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped, the Associated Press reported.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels faced pockets of resistance from army and pro-government militia overnight after entering eastern Congo's largest city Goma in the worst escalation of a conflict that has run for more than a decade.

If this council does not condemn, this will go down in history as a time of powerlessness and indifference of the Security Council,' says country’s foreign minister - Anadolu Ajansı

Rebels claim to have captured the key city of Goma in the DRC, as the decades-long conflict becomes even more volatile. Sky News takes a look at what's going on.

The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped.

MONUSCO is storing voluntarily relinquished or abandoned weapons in accordance with international standards,' says Vivian van de Perre - Anadolu Ajansı

The Kenyan, Ugandan, Rwandan, South African and US embassies in Congolese capital Kinshasa came under attack by rioters protesting the seizure of Goma City by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, casting a global spotlight on a protracted conflict that has spiralled out of control in recent days.

The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink of seizing the key city of Goma.

Protesters have attacked missions in the capital of the African country as anger grows about the advance of the M23 rebel group.