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.

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.

By Yassin Kombi and Sonia Rolley GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Dead bodies lay in the streets, gunfire rang out and hospitals were overwhelmed in east Congo's largest city Goma where M23 rebels backed by Rwanda faced pockets of resistance on Tuesday from army and pro-government militias.

The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade.

There are growing international calls for peace talks to end the escalation of violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fate of the economic and trading hub Goma is still unclear. UN officials have said the situation is chaotic with fighting continuing in parts of the city.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are looking to occupy the major Congolese city of Goma, after previously doing so in 2012

Once again, the eastern Congolese city of Goma has fallen to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group. The mayhem is certainly real; the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) displacement crisis is second only to Sudan’s,

Since the M23 rebels and Rwandan soldiers launched a large-scale offensive in the key eastern DRC city of Goma on 23 January, the Congolese army (FARDC) and its partners have struggled to halt their advance.

Congo’s security forces are fighting against Rwanda-backed rebels who advanced into a key eastern city in a major escalation of a decadeslong conflict.

Fighting has escalated sharply in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have seized key towns and are closing in on the city of Goma, the government’s last stronghold in the North Kivu province,

There are growing international calls for Rwanda and the DRC to restart peace talks, as the Rwandan backed rebels take over a major city in the mineral rich region of eastern Congo.