The UN on Tuesday said the humanitarian situation in the besieged DR Congo city of Goma was "extremely worrying" amid mass displacement, food shortages, looted aid, overflowing hospitals and widespread sexual violence.

Bodies are lying on the streets. Medical staff in overwhelmed hospitals are treating hundreds of wounded civilians against the backdrop of gunfire and mortar fire.

Speaking to BBC Newshour while being locked down in a UN bunker in the city, the deputy head of the UN force, Vivian van de Perre, said the M23 rebels had "established" themselves in Goma, but were still facing "pockets of resistance".

Thousands fled the city of Goma on Monday as fighting raged between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda, who claimed to have captured eastern Congo’s largest regional hub.

A day after the rebels marched into the lakeside city, protesters in the capital attacked a UN compound and embassies including those of Rwanda, France and the United States, expressing anger at what

In June last year, Rwanda's government spokesperson Yolande Makolo hit out about the presence of mercenaries in eastern DR Congo, saying it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the use of hired combatants. In response, Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya dismissed what he called Rwanda's perennial complaint.

Reuters quoted the spokesperson as saying that the UN is deeply concerned by these developments, which are backed by "credible reports."

The rebel leader whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, said their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi's government.

The World Health Organization reports that over 2,000 people have been wounded and 45 have died due to fighting in Congo's Goma region. The clashes have heightened the risk of spreading diseases such as mpox,

The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.