Protesters attack embassies in Congo’s capital as security forces slow rebels

People protest in Kinshasa against the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels’ advances into eastern Congo’s capital Goma (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo’s largest city, as UN officials reported an unspecified number of bodies on the streets.

The officials said hospitals are overwhelmed in Goma, a regional trade and humanitarian hub that is a refuge for hundreds of thousands now fleeing gunfire and shelling in the major escalation in one of Africa’s longest conflicts driven by ethnic tensions.