Rebels seized the airport of east Congo's largest city Goma on Tuesday, potentially cutting off the main route for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people, after capturing the city in an offensive that left dead bodies lying in the streets.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has confirmed the passing away of three of its members following a mortar bomb attack by the M23 rebel militia near Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday.

Violent clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo have escalated as the M23 rebel group takes control of Goma, resulting in the deaths of 13 South African Defense Force soldiers and a humanitarian crisis.

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.

South Africans are divided over the deaths of four more South African National Defence Force members who were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Three U.N. peacekeepers from South Africa have been killed in fighting M23 rebels in eastern Congo, a political party and a trade union said Saturday.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have discussed the possibility of a ceasefire agreement in DR Congo amidst the ongoing conflict between the Congolese force and the M23 rebel group.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has confirmed the passing away of three of its members following a mortar bomb attack by the M23 rebel militia near Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels faced pockets of resistance from army and pro-government militia overnight after entering eastern Congo's largest city Goma in the worst escalation of a conflict that has run for more than a decade.

M23 rebels said they have advanced into Goma, a large city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced.

A U.N. official says Congolese rebels and allied Rwandan forces have entered the outskirts of Goma and the airport in the key eastern city is no longer in use.