The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo risks escalating into a broader regional war, Burundi's president said Saturday, as Africa's top health agency warned the fighting could spark new outbreaks of serious diseases.

The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 has vowed to march on the capital Kinshasa after capturing eastern DRC's biggest city of Goma earlier this week.

The lightning offensive is the latest to scar the mineral-rich region, which has seen relentless conflict involving dozens of armed groups kill an estimated six million people over three decades.

The fall of Goma has rattled the continent, prompting international condemnation and fears of a humanitarian crisis.

"If it continues like this, war risks becoming widespread in the region," Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye said.

"It is not only Burundi, it is Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya -- it is the whole region, it is a threat," he said in an official video posted to YouTube.

His comments echoed similar remarks by UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday.

Illustrating the complicated nature of the conflict, Burundi itself has at least 10,000 soldiers in the east of........

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