Residents of the besieged city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, say they are gripped by fear as gunshots continue to ring out around their homes, days after rebel forces claimed they had taken over.

The United Nations and other aid agencies on Tuesday reported that dead bodies are scattered in the streets of Goma, and hospitals overwhelmed with patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds. This is coming a day after Rwanda-backed rebels marched into the biggest city in eastern Congo.

Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebels are moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, in what appears to be an attempt to expand their area of control in the country's east after capturing the city of Goma.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped.

Rebels backed by Rwanda captured more towns in eastern Congo as fighters moved beyond the key city of Goma in an apparent attempt to expand their control in the conflict-battered region