Video showed inmates escaping a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels entered the eastern city of Goma. Thousands of civilians and Congolese soldiers fled to neighboring Rwanda in the latest escalation of conflict in the region.

Residents in eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma are fleeing after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels marched into the centre of Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

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.

The United Nations, African Union and East African Community condemned the capture of the city, putting Rwanda in the spotlight.

Hundreds of people attempted to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda on Sunday, as heavy gunfire resonated across the key eastern Congolese city of Goma, just a few miles from the frontline.

Alphamin Resources shares fell the most in nine years after Rwanda-backed rebels overran the eastern Congolese city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province where the company’s tin mines are located.

Heavy artillery fire could be heard in Goma on Monday, hours after Rwandan troops and fighters from the M23 rebel group entered the capital of North Kivu Province. The UN has warned of a looming crisis.

Heavy artillery fire rocked the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday as France warned the capital of the mineral-rich region was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops. Repeated explosions from heavy artillery and intense bursts of gunfire echoed across central Goma on Monday,

Kenyan President William Ruto said Monday that the presidents of Rwanda and Congo have agreed to attend a meeting Wednesday to discuss developments in eastern Congo, where M23 rebels say they have seized control of Goma on the Congo-Rwandan border.

Back in 2012, pressure on Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, by donor countries including America preceded a swift ouster from Goma of M23 by UN peacekeepers. That scenario seems less likely this time around.