The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured a major city in eastern Congo have sought to reassure its residents about their safety.

Rwanda, which diplomats say backs M23 fighters who seized Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo this week, called on Wednesday for a ceasefire across eastern Congo and for Congo to negotiate with the rebels while denying Rwandan troops were involved.

Fighting last week between government forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels in the major eastern city of Goma left at least 900 people dead, the UN health agency has said.

Rebels occupying the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma have declared a cease-fire but the government dismissed the pause in the fighting as a ruse aimed to head off growing international concern.

A rebel group that claimed to have captured the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, after fighting with the Congolese military has left hundreds of people dead.