According to reports from Kinshasa, which has over 15 million inhabitants, the embassies of Rwanda, Kenya, the USA, France, and Belgium were attacked on Tuesday. Demonstrators are protesting against the Rwanda-linked M23 rebels' advances in the country's conflict-ridden eastern part.
The police fired tear gas at the demonstrators who allegedly looted and set fire to parts of the embassies, according to the AP news agency's reporter on the spot.
Sweden also has an embassy in the nearby area, in a central part of Kinshasa where several government buildings are located. The Swedish Foreign Ministry writes that it recommends Swedes to exercise great caution in Kinshasa.
Dead bodies on the streets
In the eastern parts of the country – over 2,000 kilometers from Kinshasa – the UN has been forced to pause acute deliveries of food due to the unrest.
More than 100 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 have been injured over the past three days, according to AFP's compilation of data from local hospitals.
It is still unclear how large a part of the million-city that M23 controls. According to source information to AFP, the rebel movement took control of the city's airport on Tuesday.
Activities for food aid in and around Goma have been paused, says Shelley Thakral, spokesperson for the UN's food agency WFP, to the media and expresses concern about food shortages in the area.
The hospitals are struggling to handle the influx of injured people, according to the UN's humanitarian agency Ocha. Spokesperson Jens Lærke says to AP that many dead bodies lay on the streets in the morning.
The EU announces that the union will provide 60 million euros, equivalent to approximately 690 million kronor, in support to help people fleeing the fighting.
Risk of Ebola
The Red Cross says that samples of the Ebola virus risk being spread due to the fighting, as the laboratory at the national biomedical research institute risks being cut off from electricity.
Something that would have "unimaginable consequences", according to regional chief Patrick Youssef.
On Sunday, the armed group M23 and Rwandan forces entered central Goma after a week-long advance.
The Rwanda-linked rebels' offensive has occasionally been called a siege of the city, which has been an important hub for UN aid in eastern Congo-Kinshasa.
