Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left six United Nations peacekeepers dead, UN officials said Saturday.

Fighting has escalated sharply in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have seized key towns and are closing in on the city of Goma, the government’s last stronghold in the North Kivu province,

Luggage on their backs, they trudged all Wednesday morning along the road leading to downtown Goma, fleeing the advancing fighters in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.