DR Congo rebels enter Goma: report

REBELS in the Democratic Republic of Congo have entered the main city of Goma in the mineral-rich east of the country, according to a reporter on the scene.

A column of rebel fighters entered the city from the main airport road on Tuesday, sweeping past government troops, and moved toward the centre.

The development marks an escalation in the fighting, which erupted last week after a four-month lull and which has raised fears of a wider conflict engulfing the volatile region.

A UN official had earlier told AFP that the rebels had seized control of the airport, but another official later said that the situation there was not clear.

Loud explosions shook the area and there were reports of looting in Goma, the regional capital of 300,000 right on the border with Rwanda that is also sheltering tens of thousands of refugees who have fled the clashes.

The international community has raised alarm about the fighting, which erupted last Thursday with advances by the M23 rebels, former soldiers who mutineered in April.

The UN accuses neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda of backing the rebels, charges both countries deny.

Washington has warned the fighting was "an extremely dangerous and worrying situation" and the EU, Britain and France have also raised alarm.

The latest round of fighting erupted last week after the US and the UN slapped sanctions on the leader of the M23, Sultani Makenga.

Makenga is accused of atrocities including masterminding killings, rapes, abductions and recruiting child soldiers.

The rebels have said they plan to fight the DR Congo government "until it falls".

The UN has some 1500 "quick reaction" peacekeepers in Goma, part of some 6700 troops in North Kivu province, backing government forces against the rebels.

Aid agencies have evacuated staff from the city and the UN had planned to remove non-essential personnel on Tuesday.

On Monday Kinshasa rejected the rebels' ultimatum for direct talks within 24 hours, calling it "irrational rantings."

"We prefer to negotiate with Rwanda, the real aggressor," government spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP.

Rwanda late on Monday had accused government troops of deliberately bombing its territory.

The fighting is the most serious since July, when UN helicopters last went into action against the M23.

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

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