The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink of seizing the key city of Goma.

Rebels seized the airport of east Congo's largest city, Goma, on Tuesday, potentially cutting off the main route for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people, after capturing the city in an offensive that left dead bodies lying in the streets.

A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

France has slammed a series of attacks on diplomatic missions in Kinshasa, fuelled by tensions over the M23 rebel conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congolese security forces on Tuesday tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo's largest city, as U.N. officials reported violence,

In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.

Police in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fired tear gas at protesters in the capital, Kinshasa, on Tuesday, after embassies were attacked over the conflict in the country's east.

KINSHASA: Vandalised embassies, looted supermarkets and piles of burning tyres marked chaotic demonstrations Tuesday (Jan 28) in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa to denounce the "inaction" of the international community over the conflict raging in Goma,

Protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, Kinshasa, turned violent as demonstrators stormed foreign embassies, protesting against alleged Rwandan support for M23 rebels. Embassy gates were set on fire,

They spoke out about their assaults in spite the stigma that accompanies survivors of sexual violence and the risk of reprisals from the armed men who attacked them. The Journal article documented how international efforts to curb the use of rape as a weapon of war has fizzled out.

The Kenyan, Ugandan, Rwandan, South African and US embassies in Congolese capital Kinshasa came under attack by rioters protesting the seizure of Goma City by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, casting a global spotlight on a protracted conflict that has spiralled out of control in recent days.