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.

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 US, expressing anger at what they said was foreign interference.

M23 fighters entered Goma on Monday in the worst escalation since 2012 of a three-decade conflict rooted in the long fallout from the Rwandan genocide and the struggle for control of Congo’s abundant mineral resources.

Goma is a major hub for people displaced by fighting elsewhere in eastern Congo and aid groups seeking to assist them. Now the fighting has sent thousands of people streaming out of the city - some had recently sought refuge there from M23’s offensive since the start of the year.

Democratic Republic of Congo’s government and the head of UN peacekeeping have said Rwandan troops were present in Goma, backing up their M23 allies.