Bodies are decomposing on the streets of Goma that have not yet been collected, with hundreds of thousands displaced in the region after fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels and Congolese forces.

Nearly three thousand people have been killed in the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations, after the provincial capital was captured by rebels following days of fierce fighting with the Congolese army.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo are seeking to advance south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, in an attempt to expand their area of control in the country's east after capturing the city of Goma.

Rwanda-backed rebels who have captured eastern Congo’s largest city say they plan to take their rebellion to the capital and seek to gain political power.

Fighting last week between government forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels in the major eastern city of Goma left at least 900 people dead, the UN health agency has said.

A rebel group that claimed to have captured the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, after fighting with the Congolese military has left hundreds of people dead.

The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized eastern Congo's key city of Goma announced a unilateral ceasefire in the region Monday for humanitarian reasons, following calls for a safe corridor for aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.