The Democratic Republic of Congo's president has cut short his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos as a deadly conflict escalates back home. Fighting has intensified in DR Congo's eastern region since the start of the year,

Fighting between M23 rebels and Democratic Republic of Congo’s army intensified on Friday with the militia threatening to take the trading hub of Goma and the United Nations warning of a regional war.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that Congo's M23 conflict risks spiralling into a broader regional war as Congolese troops battle a rebel advance near the largest eastern city and tens of thousands more people flee.

The M23 rebels have been trying to make inroads in mineral-rich eastern DR Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has sparked one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

NZULO, Congo — The M23 rebel group's advance toward eastern Congo's largest city has displaced over 178,000 people in the past two weeks, the United Nations said, as the fighters closed in on Goma on the border with Rwanda.

The United Nations chief voiced alarm Thursday over a new offensive launched by rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, who are threatening to take a key regional city.

Panic engulfed Goma as M23 rebels advanced steadily towards the city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, clashing with the national army on Thursday.

Authorities in eastern Congo say M23 rebels have seized the town of Minova, a key supply route for the provincial capital, Goma.

Amnesty International has accused Congo’s army and a rebel group of bombing densely populated areas in attacks that “likely constitute war crimes.”

Many Congolese see the rebel advance as an invasion of their country by a foreign power in an attempt to seize land and Congo’s valuable rare minerals.

The M23 rebel group in Democratic Republic of Congo has seized the eastern town of Minova, a main supply route for the provincial capital Goma, a local governor and a rebel leader said on Tuesday as the army reported fighting on all fronts.

Panic is spreading in Goma in eastern Congo as the M23 rebels are steadily encircling the city as the insurgent group battles Congo's army.