By Yassin Kombi and Sonia Rolley GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Dead bodies lay in the streets, gunfire rang out and hospitals were overwhelmed in east Congo's largest city Goma where M23 rebels backed by Rwanda faced pockets of resistance on Tuesday from army and pro-government militias.

The latest fighting has intensified a humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 400,000 people since the start of the year, and raised fears of sparking a regional war, the U.N. has warned.

Heavy artillery fire rocked the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday as France warned the capital of the mineral-rich region was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops. Repeated explosions from heavy artillery and intense bursts of gunfire echoed across central Goma on Monday,

The three-year insurgency by the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 has intensified, and the U.N. warned the violence could spill into a wider war.

Gunshots rang out through parts of the besieged DR Congo city of Goma on Tuesday, as Congolese soldiers clashed with militia fighters backed by Rwandan troops ahead of a UN

GOMA, Congo — Congo has severed diplomatic ... Associated Press writer Ignatius Ssuuna in Kigali, Rwanda, contributed to this report.

Gunfire broke out before dawn Monday in the centre of the besieged Congolese city of Goma, after the Democratic Republic of Congo accused neighbouring Rwanda of sending more troops across

Buses were standing by on Monday, ready to evacuate United Nations staff and their families from the besieged Congolese city of Goma over the Rwandan border, Rwanda's state media said.

Rwandan-backed March 23 (M23) rebels swept into Goma, capital of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, seizing control of the city of one million. The development marks a dramatic escalation in the long-running crisis.

Dead bodies lay in the streets, gunfire rang out and hospitals were overwhelmed in east Congo’s largest city on Tuesday, as M23 rebels backed by Rwanda faced pockets of resistance from army and pro-government militias.

Kenyan President William Ruto said Monday that the presidents of Rwanda and Congo have agreed to attend a meeting Wednesday to discuss developments in eastern Congo, where M23 rebels say they have seized control of Goma on the Congo-Rwandan border.