French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has arrived in Congo's capital Kinshasa, an official at the presidency said on Thursday, as Rwanda-backed rebels consolidated control of Goma in the east of the African country.
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.
Anti-Rwandan protests broke out in Kinshasa Tuesday morning, as rebels battled Congolese forces in the key eastern city of Goma.
Gaps in securing Uganda’s embassy in Kinshasa are to blame for the attacks that forced the diplomats into hiding on January 28, Daily Monitor has learnt.
The fresh offensive by the M23 rebels and Rwanda forces in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) coincides with the first anniversary of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the European Union (EU) and Rwanda to cooperate on the supply of "critical minerals.
Former president Thabo Mbeki says that for as long as the Democratic Republic of Congo refuses to look after the Rwandan-speaking Congolese population in the eastern part of the country, then military groups like M23 will continue to exist.
Police clashed with protesters in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital on Jan. 28, as violence between the Congolese army and M23 rebels escalated in the eastern city of Goma.
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.
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 Rwanda-backed armed group M23 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.
Rwandan-backed M23 rebels asserted their control over east Congo's largest city Goma on Thursday by calling on residents to resume normal life, even as the group clashed with Congolese troops as they tried to take more territory.