Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations, after it was captured by rebels following days of fierce fighting with the Congolese army.

M23, which is made up of ethnic Tutsis, say they are fighting for minority rights, while DR Congo's government says the Rwanda-backed rebels are seeking control of the eastern region's vast mineral wealth. At the checkpoint M23 rebels peered into my car, asked my driver a few brief questions, then waved us into the devastated city.

The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured a major city in eastern Congo have sought to reassure its residents about their safety