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.

A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces.

South Africa often uses its diplomatic heft to position itself as defender of the "global south" on the world stage, but the deaths of 13 of its soldiers in eastern Congo fighting have exposed an inability to project hard power in its own backyard.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels behind escalating crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this week

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for a urgent cease-fire in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo saying Washington was "deeply troubled" by a recent escalation in the fighting.

Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Rwandan President Paul Kagame blasted criticism of his country's role in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where rebels his government backs have seized its largest city,

The United Nations said Thursday it was concerned by “credible reports” that the Rwanda-backed armed group M23 was advancing south in the Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

The Rwandan-backed M23 group is advancing further south in DR Congo, local and humanitarian sources told AFP Thursday, after the group vowed it would march to the capital Kinshasa.

France's Foreign Ministry said that Congo's territorial integrity was "not negotiable" after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took the eastern city of Goma. M23 rebels said they would march "all the way to Kinshasa.

Rwanda-backed rebels who have captured eastern Congo’s largest city say they plan to take their rebellion to the capital of Kinshasa and seek to gain political power.