UN aid agencies have warned of a major humanitarian crisis in the Congolese city of Goma, with hospitals overwhelmed by casualties and bodies lying on the streets.
Thousands of people have been fleeing “multiple active conflict zones”, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said.
The aid agencies said their warehouses with food and medical supplies have been looted as M23 rebels continue to battle to take control of the city.
Anger has been growing over the M23 offensive, and calls for peace talks to end the fighting are mounting.
“Hospitals are overwhelmed. There are currently hundreds of people in hospital, most admitted with gunshot wounds,” the Reuters news agency quoted Adelheid Marschang, the World Health Organization’s emergency response coordinator for the Democratic Republic of Congo, as saying.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its hospital received more than 100 wounded in just 24 hours, a number it previously received over the course of a month.
It said this had forced its 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, it added.
Both the ICRC and the World Food Programme say their warehouses have been looted in recent days.
Reports say at least 17 people have been killed and close to 400 wounded.
On Tuesday, South Africa said that four more of its soldiers, who are in DR Congo as part of peacekeeping efforts, had died as a result of clashes with the M23.
This brings the total number of South African casualties to 13. Malawi and Uruguay have also lost peacekeepers.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday spoke to his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, with the two agreeing on an urgent need for ceasefire and resumption of peace taks
The African Union is also set to host an emergency meeting later on Tuesday.
Late on Monday, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi held a meeting with leaders of some state institutions to evaluate the situation in the city.
“Our soldiers and the [pro-government militia] Wazalendo continue to hold certain positions in the city” said Vital Kamerhe, the speaker of the National Assembly after the meeting.
He said the president would address the nation later on the matter, without giving specific details.
Since Friday, Goma has been cut off from electricity and water, and Mr Kamerhe said the government was working hard to restore them to the city.
He said the government was also seeking diplomatic and political solutions to the crisis.
It came as the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the M23 attack in a call with Tshisekedi.
In a statement, the US State Department said the Congolese leader agreed on the need to restart peace talks “as soon as possible” with Rwanda, which is accused of backing the rebels.
Mr Rubio also spoke to Kenya’s President William Ruto, agreeing to push forward peace talks. A meeting called by the Kenyan leader between Tshisekedi and Kagame has been scheduled for Wednesday.
The Congolese government has also asked for another meeting of the UN Security Council – demanding that this time it take tough action against Rwanda
During an emergency UN meeting on Sunday, DR Congo demanded sanctions against Rwanda, saying its forces had crossed into its territory in what amounted to a “declaration of war”.
Following the meeting, the UN condemned M23 advances and the “ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DR Congo”, including the presence of “external forces”.
Rwanda has in the past denied direct support for the M23, but the UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said there is no doubt its troops were supporting the rebels.
In the capital Kinshasa, angry protesters on Tuesday burned parts of the French embassy, to express discontent over the M23’s offensive.
They stormed the streets, restricting circulation, and burning tyres and disrupting traffic.
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing as parts of the embassy went up in flames.
Some residents preferred to observe a day of the “dead city”, following a call by civil societies to stay at home in solidarity with Goma.
Additional reporting by Imogen Foulkes in Geneva and Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa
