Rwanda-backed rebels say they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped.

The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government says the Rwanda-backed rebels’ advance constitutes a “declaration of war."

Colleta Nzabonipa, 54, sits among other internally displaced people who fled from various camps following fighting between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Goma,

Rwanda-backed rebels have claimed they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped. Analysts said the M23 fighters aimed to control the city of about 2 million people and perhaps other areas in the region nearly 1,

Goma, Congo — Residents in eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, were fleeing on Monday after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces as fighting escalated despite calls from the U.N. Security Council for the insurgents to withdraw.

The United States urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider measures to halt an offensive by Rwandan troops and M23 rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a conflict there escalates.