Video showed part of the French embassy in Congo’s capital of Kinshasa on fire as protests erupted in anger over M23 rebel advances in the eastern city of Goma. Demonstrators attacked several embassies of countries they accused of complicity in Rwanda’s alleged support of the rebel group.

France has slammed a series of attacks on diplomatic missions in Kinshasa, fuelled by tensions over the M23 rebel conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

United Nations officials say there were dead bodies on the streets of eastern Congo’s largest city where hospitals are overwhelmed and hundreds of thousands are fleeing gunfire and shelling.

By Benoit Nyemba and David Lewis KINSHASA (Reuters) -Rioters stormed embassies and started fires in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa on Tuesday, drawing tear gas from police, in an eruption of protests over a Rwandan-backed rebel offensive in the east.

Protesters ransacked the embassies of Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and others in Kinshasa and attempted to set them on fire, accusing those countries of supporting or failing to stop the M23 rebels

The Congolese government says the attacks on foreign embassies showed anger at Western inaction as Rwanda-backed rebels overran Goma. French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine pushes back against the perception that France shares some blame for the situation due to its aid to Rwanda.

Dozens of demonstrators attacked several foreign embassies, including those of Rwanda, France and Belgium, on Tuesday to protest the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels into a major city in the country’s conflict-battered east.

Violence has escalated in the Democratic Republic of Congo as furious protesters stormed the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, chanting anti-imperialist slogans and setting fires. Shocking visuals show large crowds attempting to breach the embassy's logistical center,