United Nations agencies called for an end to the violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as fighting between

(Reuters) -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.

M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo said they would begin a unilateral ceasefire on Tuesday as the Group of Seven nations demanded that the Rwanda-backed militia halt an offensive that has shaken the eastern part of the country.

The group called the Congo River Alliance also includes the Rwanda- backed M23 rebels, who were reported to be gaining territory in other eastern parts of the country while advancing on South Kivu's provincial capital,