A rebel alliance spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia said it had seized the lakeside city of more than 2 million people.

Fighting has escalated sharply in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have seized key towns and are closing in on the city of Goma, the government’s last stronghold in the North Kivu province,

There was gunfire Tuesday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, as the United Nations warned of a worrying humanitarian situation amid clashes between Congolese soldiers and Rwandan-backed rebels who attacked the area and claimed to be in control.