Rwandan-backed M23 rebels asserted their control over east Congo's largest city Goma on Thursday by calling on residents to resume normal life, even as the group clashed with Congolese troops as they tried to take more territory.

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.

In the last 48 hours, two U.N. peacekeepers from South Africa and one from Uruguay were killed and 11 peacekeepers were injured and hospitalized.