The Council met on Tuesday for the second time in three days to discuss the escalating crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gunfire rang out early on Monday across parts of Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, hours after Rwanda-backed rebels said they had seized the city despite the United Nations Security Council's calling for an end to the offensive.

Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left six United Nations peacekeepers dead, UN officials said Saturday.

Tonga's Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala has been named minister for defence and foreign affairs, taking on the key government roles in the Pacific Islands nation a week after prime minister 'Aisake Eke was appointed by King Tupou VI.

The three-year insurgency by the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 has intensified, and the U.N. warned the violence could spill into a wider war.

Weapon-toting Congolese soldiers arrived Monday in Bukavu, fleeing Goma on the other side of Lake Kivu by boat after M23 fighters and Rwandan forces entered the main city in DR Congo’s volatile east.

The latest fighting has intensified a humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 400,000 people since the start of the year, and raised fears of sparking a regional war, the U.N. has warned.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said he agreed with the U.S. government on the need for a ceasefire in eastern Congo but gave no indication of bowing to calls for Rwandan troops and the M23 rebels they support to withdraw from Goma.

Thousands fled the city of Goma on Monday as fighting raged between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda, who claimed to have captured eastern Congo’s largest regional hub.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, early Monday, as the United Nations described ... meeting of the U.N. Security Council that with the airport ...

The M23 armed group and Rwandan soldiers entered the centre of Goma on Sunday night after weeks of advancing on the main city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province.