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.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said Monday that the “Rwandan Army” is in the strategic Congolese city of Goma (northeast), taken by the rebel group Mar. 23 Movement (M23), allegedly supported by neighboring Rwanda.

Johannesburg - Rwandan President Paul Kagame has lashed out at South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa after Ramaphosa accused Rwanda of backing the

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.

M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo were reported to have taken the key eastern city of Goma in fierce fighting with government forces that sent streams of refugees fleeing area communities.

Congolese security forces on Tuesday tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo’s largest city, as U.N. officials reported violence,

Rwanda's government, led by President Paul Kagame, has been accused by the DRC and various international organizations of supporting M23, including providing military assistance, training, and logistical support.

The United Nations expressed deep concern at reports of M23 rebels and Rwandan troops advancing south towards the Congolese city of Bukavu on Thursday, as the militants sought also to assert their control over east Congo's largest city Goma.

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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.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, consolidated control on Wednesday over several districts of Goma, the city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo