The Council met on Tuesday for the second time in three days to discuss the escalating crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

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

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss the escalation of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as M23 forces supported by Rwanda advance towards

France and Britain have called on Rwanda to address accusations of supporting the M23 rebels in recent conflicts near Goma, in eastern Congo. At a U.N. Security Council meeting, both countries urged Rwanda to withdraw its troops from Congo territory amid escalating tensions.

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.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where fierce fighting raged as Kigali-backed fighters closed in on the major city of Goma.

Congo has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting involving Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Congolese forces intensifies near Goma. Accusations fly between nations, with the UN and Congolese government citing Rwanda's support of rebels.

Rwanda-backed rebels have entered the outskirts of eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, causing what the United Nations called “mass panic” among its 2 million people and leading Congo’s government to call it a “declaration of war.

The United States urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider measures to halt an offensive by Rwandan troops and M23 rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a conflict there escalates.

The ongoing violence has exacerbated fears of a public health crisis, with the Red Cross warning of the potential spread of diseases

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, protests broke out in Kinshasa Tuesday as people denounced inaction from the international community to end the raging conflict in the eastern city of Goma, where M23 forces have consolidated power.