The governor of eastern Congo's North Kivu state has died of injuries sustained during front-line fighting, authorities said Friday, as M23 rebels closed in on the state capital.

The M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, home to nearly two million people and a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

The circumstances of Major General Peter Chirimwami's death were not clear, but Chirimwami, who led army operations in restive North Kivu, visited troops on the Kasengezi frontline on the day of his death.

His death was confirmed on Thursday by a government source, a military source and a UN source, who all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.They said the governor died in hospital after suffering injuries on the front line.

Panic gripped Goma on Thursday as rebels took control of the town of Sake, just 27 kilometers from the provincial capital and one of the last main routes into the city still under government control, according to the UN chief.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups fighting in mineral-rich eastern Congo along the border with Rwanda in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises, with more than seven million people displaced by the fighting.

Earlier this month, M23 captured the towns of Minowa, Katale and Masisi west of Goma.

M23 captured Goma in 2012 and controlled it for over a week.

Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.

The Rwandan government denies the claim, but last year acknowledged it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to protect its security, citing a build-up of Congolese forces near the border.UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan troops in Congo.

Tension, collisions

The city of Goma was in a state of palpable tension as clashes between the Congolese armed forces and the M23 raged on the outskirts of the city on Friday.

The fighting is centered in Kibumba, about 25 kilometers north of Goma, and around Sake to the west. More than 178,000 people have fled the M23 advance in the past two weeks.

Alliance Gentil, 25, was among dozens of displaced people on the road from Sake to Goma on Friday.Sitting on a water container next to her belongings, her baby on her back, she said she was tired of constantly running away.

“I am running away, but I don't know where I am going,” said the mother of two children, adding that she has already run away twice in the last month.

The front line near Goma is just tens of meters from the Lushagala and Bulengo IDP camps, causing fear among those seeking safety near the provincial capital.

According to the UN refugee agency, tens of thousands of people have arrived in camps in and around Goma in recent weeks, already home to some 600,000 displaced people.

On Friday, explosions of heavy weapons resonated throughout Goma. Many shops and stores remained closed, and police were deployed on the city's main streets. Military checkpoints were set up throughout the city, checking all vehicles.