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 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.

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 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.

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

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.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels marched into the centre of Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

After a lightning offensive, M23 rebels now control Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

M23 rebels have attacked Goma with heavy firing, killing and injuring many while forcing countless others to flee

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.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a rebel alliance that has besieged swathes of the nation’s mineral-rich east and