Three South African peacekeepers have been killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting intensified on Saturday between the Congolese army and Rwandan-backed M23 fighters, a political party said.

Fighting raged in the region despite calls from the international community for the M23 to halt its advance on Goma, the key city in the east and home to over a million people.

After the failure of Angolan-led peace talks, the M23 and the Rwandan army have advanced in recent weeks towards Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province in DR Congo's perennially restive and mineral-rich east.

An AFP reporter saw a burned-out, smoking armoured vehicle of the UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO on the road between Goma and Sake, scene of intense fighting in recent days.

Shops were open in Goma on Saturday and day-to-day activity appeared normal despite artillery detonations in the distance that resonated as far as the city centre.

Intense fighting has been raging since Thursday on several fronts less than 10 kilometres (six miles) around the virtually besieged city.

The European Union urged the M23 on Saturday to halt its advance and........

© International Business Times