RWANDA-BACKED rebels have captured large parts of eastern Congo’s largest city, including its airport, the United Nations said today, as Rwandan President Paul Kagame joined calls for a ceasefire in the decades-long conflict.

Much of Goma was calm early this morning, after a day during which thousands of fleeing people crouched down by roadsides as missiles flew and injured people streamed to overwhelmed hospitals.

While government forces still control pockets of the city, residents told reporters on Tuesday that the M23 rebel group controlled most of it.