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.

The cost of some essential food items has more than doubled in Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that was captured by M23 rebels last week, according to locals and an NGO.

The M23 captured Goma, a city of nearly two million people, last week after a lightning advance in DR Congo's eastern region. At least 700 people in the city were killed and close to 3,000 injured as the rebels clashed with DR Congo's army and its allies, according to the UN and the Congolese government.