Rwandan-backed M23 rebels asserted their control over east Congo's largest city Goma on Thursday by calling on residents to resume normal life, even as the group clashed with Congolese troops as they tried to take more territory.

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

Residents of Goma reported gunfire and shelling after rebels overran Congolese troops. U.N. officials estimated that more than one million displaced people were now inside the city.

Earlier this week the Tutsi-led M23 rebels seized Goma, the largest city in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo which is home to lucrative gold, coltan and tin ore mines. They then shifted their focus to Bukavu in neighbouring South Kivu province and made some progress toward that objective.

A major offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in east Democratic Republic of Congo appeared to have stalled on Saturday after the army took back some ground, two civil society sources and a local official said.