By Yassin Kombi and David Lewis GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -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,
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.
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 Rwanda Defense Force reported escorting hundreds of "Romanian mercenaries" out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after seizing Goma.
Congo has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels and government forces rages around the key eastern city of Goma.
The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have released captured Romanian mercenaries who were fighting with the Congolese army. As they passed a border, they were chastised by Willy Ngoma, who tapped them mockingly one by one.
Rwanda-backed rebels claimed 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, the Associated Press reported.
Residents of the besieged city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, say they are gripped by fear as gunshots continue to ring out around their homes, days after rebel forces claimed they had taken over.
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
Rwanda's President Kagame says its priority in eastern DRC is to destroy the Democratic Liberation Front of Rwanda, formed from remnants of the forces that committed the 1994 genocide.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has questioned the presence of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) which includes South African armed forces,