Nearly 3,000 people were killed over the last week as rebels captured a key city in one of the deadliest battles in the Central African country in decades.

Rebels in eastern Congo's largest city, Goma, began a ceasefire on Tuesday and people rushed to bury some 2,000 victims of last week's battles for the city as they feared the spread of disease.

Over 2,000 bodies bow require burial in Goma after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took over the Democratic of Congo city, inflaming a decade-old conflict and humanitarian crisis. Congo’s communications minister Patrick Muyaya on Tuesday confirmed the mass burial,

The M23 rebels took control of a town 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the provincial capital of Bukavu despite a ceasefire.

A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

Rwanda-backed rebels who have captured eastern Congo’s largest city say they plan to take their rebellion to the capital and seek to gain political power.