A government official in the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed earlier on Tuesday that the army now controls most of Goma, in the country’s east.

Muhingo Nzangi, who is also the local MP, told reporters the military had dealt a major blow to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.

But the rebels continue to claim they control the city.

Footage filmed in Goma shows them packed into jeeps driving through the streets, and looting supplies from shops.

Loud gunfire can also be heard.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

Image source, Getty Images

Aid agencies are deeply concerned that the escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could trigger the spread of disease, including Ebola and Mpox.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the laboratory in Goma housing samples of the Ebola virus had lost power because of the fighting, putting the security of the samples at risk.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the epicentre of the conflict was also the epicentre of a new strain of Mpox; more than 20,000 cases have been recorded in the last year, but the violence now makes tracing and treating them impossible.

Half a million people have been displaced this month alone, aid workers in Goma report bodies lying in the streets, and hundreds of civilians injured by heavy artillery.

If a disease like Ebola, which has a mortality rate of up to 80%, were to spread among a population which is both vulnerable and on the move, the Red Cross said, the consequences would be "unimaginable".

Jean Claude Mwambutsa
BBC Great Lakes, Kigali

Image source, BBC Great Lakes

Hundreds of civilians fleeing the violence in Goma have been arriving in the Rwandan town of Gisenyi, which is just over the border.

One woman who was carrying her child and a few belongings told the BBC's Great Lakes service: “Bombs from clashes kept falling near us, one fell on my neighbour’s house, killing her and her six children, that’s when I decided to flee."

DR Congo's information minister has said the police have restored order in the capital Kinshasa, where protests against the crisis in Goma had turned violent.

Patrick Muyaya said the government had initially welcomed the "legitimate" gathering of demonstrators showing their support for the Congolese army and the population of Goma, the main city in the east.

However, the authorities "strongly condemned" the "vandalism and violence" committed by some protesters.

Throughout the morning, foreign embassies were targeted and some buildings were looted and set on fire.

Paul Njie
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has condemned the attack on France's embassy in Kinshasa by protesters on Tuesday morning.

"These attacks are unacceptable," he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding that protesters had "caused a fire that has now been brought under control".

Plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the French embassy, after part of it was set on fire.

"Everything is being done to ensure the safety of our agents and nationals," Barrot added.

Protesters also targeted the embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the US.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

A total of 13 peacekeepers from South Africa are known to have been killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where they have been deployed to government forces fight the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group.

Confirmation came that three of the soldiers died at their base at the airport in Goma on Monday following a mortar attack, while the fourth soldier died from injuries sustained during a major clash with the rebels last Thursday.

Malawi and Uruguay have also lost peacekeepers.

Paul Njie & Will Ross
BBC News

The embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, France and Belgium have been targeted by protesters in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, in a show of outrage at the ongoing rebel assault on Goma.

Some of the buildings have been looted.

According to the French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, part of the country's embassy was set on fire.

Police have fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who have burnt tyres and are chanting songs against the M23 rebels.

Parts of Kinshasa are practically deserted - schools and shops are closed.

Earlier on Tuesday, a group of civil society activists called on people to stay at home and observe a ghost town as a sign of solidarity with government forces fighting to protect Goma.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The M23 rebels say they've now captured Goma's airport.

They faced pockets of resistance but appear to be close to taking the whole city.

The UN says there are dead bodies on the streets and there are reports of rapes committed by fighters.

More than 2,000km away in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, people are furious at the rebel assault.

The country's neighbours - Uganda and Rwanda - have a long history of backing rebel groups in the east.

Their embassies are among those to have been attacked and looted.

There's a danger of a regional conflict - the presidents of Congo and Rwanda are being urged to try peace talks.

Paul Njie
BBC News

Health workers are being shot at and patients, including babies, are caught in the crossfire in Goma, says the World Health Organization (WHO).

Adelheid Marschang, WHO's emergency response coordinator in DR Congo, was speaking in a joint briefing of UN agencies and other organisations, where the dire humanitarian consequences of the M23’s offensive were highlighted.

Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering gunshot wounds and other injuries, aid groups said.

"There are currently hundreds of people in hospital, most admitted with gunshot wounds," Dr Marschang stated.

The spokesperson of the UN Humanitarian Office, Jens Learke, said staff in Goma reported that corpses could be seen lying in the streets.

Food and medical supplies are also said to have been looted as the chaos unfolded in Goma.

Since the M23 launched its offensive to conquer Goma, organisations have raised concerns that it would worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the city.

Since the start of this year, 400,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, according to the UN refugee agency.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

Image source, EPA

We're restarting our live coverage of the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo as UN aid agencies warn of a major humanitarian crisis in Goma, with hundreds wounded, bodies lying in the streets, and an upsurge in rape and gender-based violence.

The UN refugee agency reports hundreds of thousands of displaced, fleeing "multiple active conflict zones".

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its hospital received over 100 wounded in just 24 hours, a number it previously received over the course of a month, forcing staff to turn the hospital car park into a triage unit.

The use of heavy artillery in densely populated areas is causing severe injuries, particularly among children.

Both the ICRC and the World Food Programme say their warehouses have been looted in recent days.

Image source, EPA

We're ending our live coverage of the worsening crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels stormed its main city, Goma.

Here's a round-up of the key developments:

• Heavy artillery and gunfire has been heard in parts of the city throughout the day
• The rebels had earlier claimed they had captured the city, but the government said it was still in control of key sites, including the airport
• A UN official has described the situation in the city as "very fluid", saying fighting is continuing
• Medics say that many people have died after bombs were dropped, including in a camp for displaced people
• An aid agency says a hospital has been attacked, injuring a baby
• Thousands of people are fleeing Goma or remain trapped in their homes
• Water and electricity supplies in the city have been cut off
• Kenya's president says his Congolese and Rwandan counterparts have agreed to an emergency summit on Wednesday
• The government has vowed that it will not give up "a single centimetre" of territory to the M23 rebels
• You can keep up-to-date with the latest news by going to the story on our website.

Fighting across Goma "is still very much ongoing", senior UN official Bruno Lemarquis has said, Reuters news agency reports, after M23 rebels claimed they had seized the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lemarquis said the situation was "very, very fluid" , and "it's not over yet".

A surgeon has told the BBC that there has been heavy fighting around the Heal Africa hospital in Goma.

Dr Joe Lusi, who is usually based at the hospital, said he had travelled to Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to get medical supplies when fighting escalated.

He said he was in touch with his colleagues who told him there was a a lot of fighting around the hospital and every doctor had been advised to hide under the beds for their safety.

Dr Lusi added that many people have died, with some bombs having fallen into a camp for displaced people.

"Those who were wounded were scattered in all the hospitals around Goma and they were not carried by ambulances. It was by motorbikes and people who were sympathetic enough to help one another," he added.

Paul Njie
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Five civilians have been killed and 35 others severely wounded in the Rwandan town of Rubavu, which lies just over the border from Goma, the Rwandan army has said.

Army spokesperson Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanda told the media the injured are being treated in different hospitals.

In order to protect its population, Rwanda has been beefing up security along its border with Goma, Gen Rwivanda added.

He also told the Rwandan Broadcasting Agency (RBA) that more than 120 Congolese fighters have fled over the border to Rwanda and surrendered.

Earlier today, the RBA published videos of soldiers it said had surrendered.

Video footage of people fleeing Gomapublished at 17:38 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

17:38 GMT 27 January

Video posted online shows thousands of people carrying heavy bags and mattresses walking along a road.

We have located the footage to a stretch of the main highway to the north of the city of Goma. The crowds are moving southwards away from a camp that had been housing internally displaced people.

While many have fled the advance of the M23 fighters, we have also verified video footage showing some locals celebrating the arrival of the rebels as they moved into the city.

A baby has been injured in an attack on a hospital in Goma today, Save the Children says.

The aid agency added that its office in Goma was also hit by an explosion and the house of an employee struck with bullets.

Last week, four children were wounded by explosives, external in the town of Minova, about 30km from Goma, Save the Children said.

Earlier today we mentioned reports of a mass escape from a prison in Goma.

Video footage shows people believed to be prisoners in the streets of the Congolese city, hours after M23 fighters and Rwandan troops entered Goma.

You can watch the footage here:

The African Union's Peace and Security Council will meet tomorrow to discuss DR Congo's current conflict, AFP news agency has reported.

"There will an emergency session of the Peace and Security Council tomorrow at midday on the situation in eastern DRC," spokesperson Paschal Chem-Langhee is quoted as saying.

Verified footage of surrendered Congolese soldierspublished at 16:36 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January

16:36 GMT 27 January

BBC Verify has analysed footage posted by Rwanda’s government news agency (RBA) showing what it said was a group of Congolese soldiers who had fled over the border to Rwanda, surrendered their weapons and handed themselves in.

In the footage, at least a dozen men, some of them in military uniforms, can be seen sitting on the ground.

We confirmed the video was filmed on the Rwandan side of the border by matching buildings to those visible on satellite imagery of Gisenyi, the town on the Rwandan side, adjacent to Goma in DR Congo.

The men guarding them are also wearing uniforms which match those seen in images of the Rwandan police.

M23 rebels have taken over the Goma branch of state broadcaster RTNC, the UN-sponsored Radio Okapi, external has reported.

This siege "marks a strategic advance for the rebels", Radio Okapi wrote.