Rwandan-backed rebels moved to tighten their grip on the strategic city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday in what Kinshasa described as “a declaration of war” by its neighbour.

Congo has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels and government forces rages around the key eastern city of Goma.

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.

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.

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

France expresses its solidarity regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo and condemns actions by Rwanda in the country, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.

Rwandan diplomats say their army is not deployed in the DRC, but if it was it would be to protect the Congolese Tutsi community and their own borders against the rebel Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda. The FDLR includes combatants who participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

M23 insurgency in eastern Congo has intensified in January with the rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the United Nations to warn of the risk of a broader regional war.

The rebel militia M23, backed by Rwanda, captured Goma, a major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on January 27, marking a significant escalation in the conflict. M23 had briefly seized the city in 2012 but had been dormant for years.

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Last June the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, said he was ready to go to war with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo) if necessary. He still hasn’t formally declared war, but 3,000-4,000 Rwandan troops are already across the DRCongo border and many more are just behind them.