Thirteen soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in clashes with M23 rebels.
The South African military said nine of its soldiers died helping repel a rebel advance on the city of Goma, in eastern DR Congo, while three Malawians and a Uruguayan were also killed.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to the leaders of both DR Congo and Rwanda amid global calls for an end to the violence.
The United Nations is pulling all non-essential personnel out of GOMA—a city of more than one million people—as the fighting intensifies.
A UN Security Council meeting on the deadly clashes, originally set for Monday, was moved to Sunday because of the escalating conflict.
The M23 group called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender to avoid bloodshed. While Dr Congo has severed diplomatic ties with neighboring Rwanda, accusing the country of being behind the rebellion.
The move comes after M23 fighter jets killed a Congolese military governor Who was visiting the front line on Thursday. Earlier in January, they captured the key eastern Congolese towns of Minowi and Masisi.
Macron called for an end to the fighting in separate calls with the leaders of Dr Congo and Rwanda on Saturday, his office said.
EU foreign policy chief Kadja Callas called on M23 to halt its advance and condemned Rwanda's support for the group, AFP News agency reports.
Further condemnation came from Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the African Union mediator between Rwanda and DR Congo, who denounced “irresponsible actions by M23 and its supporters” and called for an “immediate end” to the fight to preserve civilian life. according to AFP News Agency.
The fight between M23 and Dr Congo's army has intensified since the start of the year, with the rebels taking control of more territory than ever before.
The conflict has already forced more than 400,000 people to flee their homes this year, according to the United Nations.
Local leaders last week said more than 200 civilians had been killed in areas captured by the M23, with hospitals in Goma treating hundreds of patients.
Martin Gordon, the Anglican bishop in Goma, told Bitcoin the fighting in the country has gone on “for too long” and people “will do anything for peace”.
In the past few days, several countries have called on their citizens to leave Goma, including Britain, France, Germany and the United States.
Human Rights Watch has warned of escalating risks to civilians as the Congolese army battles M23 rebels. The humanitarian group accused both sides of committing serious abuses against civilians.
The UN has warned that the ongoing conflict is worsening the humanitarian crisis in the region.
M23 has taken control of vast swathes of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since 2021. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result.
Dr Congo and UN say M23 is backed by Rwanda. Rwandan authorities have neither confirmed nor denied this.
Rwanda previously said authorities in Dr. Congo were working with some of those responsible for Rwanda's 1994 genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
M23 was formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the Tutsi population in eastern DR Congo, which has long complained of persecution and discrimination.
Rwanda's critics, however, accuse him of using the M23 to plunder eastern DR Congo's minerals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.