The United Nations has warned that conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached alarming new levels.
A video shared by the Congolese government on Thursday showed its troops operating in areas around the regional capital, Goma, and the town of Saké.
Fighting between the army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels has intensified since the start of the year.
The militant group captured the town of Minova on Tuesday, a key supply route to Goma, which is close to the border with Rwanda.
The UN says over 250,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks as the M23 advances, many of them fleeing on packed boats from Minova to Goma across Lake Kivu.
Its peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, has reported heavy clashes between the M23, the army, and other armed groups near Saké, which is along the lake about halfway between the two.
On Thursday, there were unconfirmed reports that the M23 militants had captured the town.
Saké is home to the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC military base.
The M23 has also captured other towns in the region in recent days, although it is unclear whether they will try to take Goma, which they seized in 2012 and controlled for over a week.
The M23, or the March 23 Movement, is a militant group composed of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army just over a decade ago.
Rwanda denies accusations by the DRC, Western powers, and the United Nations that it supports the group with troops and weapons.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo since 1998 when the conflict began.
More than seven million people have been displaced since then.
Numerous diplomatic initiatives by neighbouring countries and others to resolve the conflicts have failed.
