A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces.

Nine United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Congo sustained injuries during fighting with the M23 armed group, the U.N. said, as the rebels close in on Goma.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes the M23, told Reuters on Monday that his forces were in control of Goma and that army soldiers were laying down arms

Four more South African soldiers have been killed in fighting with M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the government said, taking the number of South African peacekeepers killed to 13 since the conflict escalated last week.

Four more South African soldiers were killed in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, raising the death toll to 13.