The United States urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider measures to halt an offensive by Rwandan troops and M23 rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a conflict there escalates.

Congolese security forces on Tuesday tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo's largest city, as U.N. officials reported an unspecified number of bodies on the streets.

The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.