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.

Over 2,000 bodies require burial in Goma after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took over the Democratic Republic of Congo city last week, inflaming a decade-old conflict and humanitarian crisis, Congo's communications minister Patrick Muyaya said late on Monday.

The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a major city in eastern Congo have declared a unilateral ceasefire, citing humanitarian grounds. Monday's announcement came after the U.N. health agency said at least 900 people had died in last week's fighting between the M23 rebels and Congolese forces after the rebels seized the major city