Congo's leader has called on young people to enlist in the army to help fight Rwanda-backed rebels attempting to seize more territory in the country's conflict-battered east.

Goma, the capital of North Kivu, is both a strategic economic hub and a trade conduit to Rwanda. Rwanda frames its involvement as a necessary step to neutralise FDLR, an armed group with historical ti

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.

The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade.

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.

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Kagame's comments clearly suggested that he wants South Africa to back off from DR Congo, where its military involvement dates back to the late 1990s. It first joined the UN's peacekeeping mission, Monusco, following the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.

Local sources said Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province, after the rebel group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

In his first public remarks since the M23 rebels advanced into eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, on Monday, President Tshisekedi late on Wednesday vowed “a vigorous and co-ordinated response” to push back the rebels while reaffirming his commitment to a peaceful resolution.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a

Days after M23 rebels marched into Goma, they have ordered residents to re-open their businesses. While some residents say life is returning to normal, there is no electricity in the city; others have fled in the wake of the violence.