Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to restore government authority in the east, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized control of the city of Goma and are reportedly advancing south to take more territory.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a rebel alliance that has besieged swaths of the nation’s mineral-rich east and forced hundreds of local troops and foreign mercenaries to surrender.

Advances being made by the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo are "heightening the threat of a regional war," according to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

A French government spokesman on Thursday demanded the departure from DR Congo of Rwandan forces and Rwandan-backed M23 fighters from the east of the country. “The sovereignty and territorial

Angola’s President Joao Lourenco demanded the immediate withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory on Wednesday amid fighting with the M23 rebels in Goma. Lourenco, who is the African Union (AU) mediator between Congo and Rwanda, also urged the resumption of peace talks with the M23 and all other groups operating on Congolese territory.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi insisted his troops were mounting a "vigorous" response to Rwanda-backed fighters advancing in the country's perennially troubled east and slammed the international

By Yassin Kombi and Sonia Rolley GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -President Paul Kagame said Rwanda was ready for "confrontation" as he rejected criticism over his backing for M23 rebels who were pushing south on Thursday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing the major city of Goma.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped.

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

The conflict comes amid rising global tensions after Donald Trump’s election, especially between Washington and Beijing, over control of strategic minerals like those present in the Congo.

The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.