United Nations officials say there were dead bodies on the streets of eastern Congo’s largest city where hospitals are overwhelmed and hundreds of thousands are fleeing gunfire and shelling.

Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest city said on Thursday they want to take their fight to the far-off capital, Kinshasa, while Congo’s president called for a massive military mobilisation to resist the rebellion and his defence minister rejected calls for talks.

In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.

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.

Unconfirmed reports say the Rwanda-backed rebels are currently advancing towards Bukavu, the second-biggest city in the mineral-rich east, despite international calls for a ceasefire. In a televised address after the fall of Goma,

The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 vowed on Thursday to march on the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

DR Congo's president has vowed a "vigorous" military response against Rwandan-backed fighters who have advanced further in the mineral-rich east of the country after seizing most of the region's main