GOMA, Congo (AP) — Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, early Monday, as the United Nations described a mass panic among its 2 million people and Congo’s government said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war."
The M23 rebels announced the city's capture in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons. Early Monday morning, gunfire was heard throughout the city, according to two aid workers sheltering there who were not authorized to speak to the media.
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