The DR Congo army and M23 fighters clashed outside Goma on Friday as the UK, United States and France urged citizens to leave the main city in the country's volatile east, warning the situation could deteriorate rapidly.

Since peace talks failed, the militia group backed by Rwandan troops has gained swathes of territory in mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks, triggering a humanitarian crisis and ringing the provincial capital, which is home to a million people.

US, British and French nationals were urged to leave Goma while airports and borders were still open, in online statements or in messages sent directly by email or SMS.

With fighting intensifying, the United Nations mission in DRC, MONUSCO, said Friday that its peacekeepers were "engaged" in "intense" fighting against the M23.

MONUSCO's Quick Reaction Forces (QRF) have "been actively engaged in intense combat", the UN said in a statement, adding that "over the past 48 hours MONUSCO heavy artillery fire carried out fire missions against M23 positions".

The........

© International Business Times