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.

President Félix Tshisekedi has sent a strong message to Rwandan President Paul Kagame after skipping President William Ruto’s East African Community (EAC) virtual crisis meeting. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi addressed Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame,

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

DR Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi said on Thursday that his troops were mounting a military response as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advanced in the east of the country.

(Reuters) - Rwanda, which diplomats say backs M23 fighters who seized Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo this week, called on Wednesday for a ceasefire across eastern Congo and for Congo to negotiate with the rebels while denying Rwandan troops were involved.

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, declared a strong response from the Congolese army to the ongoing attacks by M23 rebels. In a televised address on Wednesday evening,

The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink of seizing the key city of Goma.

Regional tensions spiral as peacekeepers killed in fighting following Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group offensive

The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink of seizing the key city of Goma.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said he agreed with the U.S. government on the need for a ceasefire in eastern Congo but gave no indication of bowing to calls for Rwandan troops and the M23 rebels they support to withdraw from Goma.

South African soldiers deployed in the DRC have complained about the incentives being paid to them by the South African government, arguing that their counterparts in the region received far better incentives when deployed to a foreign country.