The M23, whose top brass are mostly Congolese Tutsi, began its insurgency more than three years ago after a decade of dormancy, seizing large parts of North Kivu province before finally grabbing Goma, the provincial capital, on 27 January.

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

Over 2,000 bodies require burial in Goma after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took over the Democratic Republic of Congo city last week, inflaming a decade-old conflict and humanitarian crisis, Congo's communications minister Patrick Muyaya said late on Monday.