UN says the death toll in fighting in the eastern Congo city of Goma is at least 900

The U.N. health agency says that fighting last week between Congolese government forces and Rwanda-backed rebels in the major eastern city of Goma left at least 900 people dead, raising the previously cited death toll of 773

GOMA, Congo -- Fighting last week between Congolese government forces and Rwanda-backed rebels in the major eastern city of Goma left at least 900 people dead, the U.N. health agency said Monday, raising the previously cited death toll of 773.

The World Health Organization said that at least 900 bodies were recovered from the streets of Goma as of last Friday following five days of fighting in which the M23 rebels took control of the city.

The WHO cited nearly 2,900 injuries in the fighting. The U.N. and Congo’s government had earlier put the provisional death toll at 773.

The M23 rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, far more than in 2012 when they first captured Goma. They are the most potent of the more than 100 armed groups vying for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east, which holds vast deposits critical to much of the world’s technology.