Fighting has escalated sharply in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have seized key towns and are closing in on the city of Goma, the government's last stronghold in the North Kivu province,

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 governor of eastern Congo's North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained during fighting on the front line, authorities said Friday, as M23 rebels closed in on the provincial capital.