Belgium on Wednesday warned its citizens against traveling to DR Congo, as Brussels Airlines scrapped a flight to Kinshasa after violent protests erupted over the conflict rocking the east of the country.

The United Nations said Wednesday that there is relative calm in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, following several days of intense fighting between the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese army for control of the city.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are looking to occupy the major Congolese city of Goma, after previously doing so in 2012

M23 Rebels Seize Goma Airport, Bodies on Streets Amid Clashes | Firspost Africa | N18G In DR Congo, conflict is intensifying with the M23 rebels backed by neighbouring Rwanda who have tightened their grip on DR Congo's mineral-rich eastern region.

Rwanda-backed M23 Rebels Capture Goma Airport as Clashes Intensify |Firstpost Africa |N18G In DR Congo, conflict is intensifying with the M23 rebels backed by neighbouring Rwanda who have tightened their grip on DR Congo's mineral-rich eastern region.

Diplomatic sources say the bloc is facing calls to suspend its wide-ranging minerals agreement with Rwanda amid fears it is inflaming the escalating conflict in eastern DRC. View on euronews

The Rwanda-backed M23 group is one of about 100 armed factions vying for a foothold in eastern Congo in one of Africa’s longest conflicts, displacing 4.5 million people and creating what the U.N. called “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth."

The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 vowed on Thursday to march on the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

Congolese security forces on Tuesday tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after

DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi insisted Wednesday that his troops were mounting a "vigorous" military response as Rwanda-backed fighters advanced in the east of the country.