About 200,000 people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Rwanda-backed rebels march on a strategic eastern town just days after Donald Trump hosted the Rwandan and Congolese leaders to proclaim peace.

Axar.az, citing The Guardian, reports that the UN said at least 74 people had been killed, mostly civilians, and 83 admitted to hospital with wounds from escalating clashes in the area in recent days.

Local officials and residents said M23 rebels had been advancing towards the lakeside town of Uvira on the border with Burundi and fighting Congolese troops and local groups known as Wazalendo in villages to the north.

Trump hosted the presidents of Rwanda and DRC in Washington on 4 December for a ceremony to sign a pact affirming US and Qatari-brokered commitments to end the war.