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AFPCongolese President Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to restore government authority in the east, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized control of the city of Goma and are reportedly advancing south to take more territory.
In a televised address to the nation, he said a “vigorous and coordinated response” against what he called “terrorists” was under way.
He criticised the international community for “inaction” and for not doing enough in the wake of the escalating security crisis.
The weeks-long offensive by the rebels has prompted warnings of a looming humanitarian crisis and growing international pressure to end the fighting.
During Wednesday night’s address, Tshisekedi rallied all Congolese to join together and support the army’s fight to retake control.
“Be sure of one thing: the Democratic Republic of Congo will not let itself be humiliated or crushed. We will fight and we will triumph,” he said.
The fighting has forced about 500,000 people from their homes, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.
Since the fighting began, the city has been cut off from electricity and water and food is in scarce supply.
An East African regional bloc virtual summit on Wednesday evening convened by Kenya’s President William Ruto, which Tshisekedi snubbed, called for a “peaceful settlement of the conflicts”.
It was attended by Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, alongside the leaders of other member countries Burundi, South Sudan, Tanzania and Somalia.
The heads of state “strongly urged the government of the DR Congo to directly engage with all stakeholders, including the M23 and other armed groups that have grievances”.
Tshisekedi has been refusing to talk directly to the M23 – insisting on only talking to Rwanda.
The East African leaders also called for a joint summit of the bloc and leaders of the southern African regional community (Sadc) to “deliberate on the way forward”. DR Congo is a member of both the East African Community and Sadc.
Sadc is due to hold a special summit in Zimbabwe on Friday of the bloc’s heads of state to discuss DR Congo.
AFPTshisekedi paid tribute to the Sadc soldiers “fighting alongside us” and UN forces who had died in the wake of the rebel assault on Goma.
Thirteen South African peacekeepers have been killed in the deadly conflict in Goma, leading to heightened tensions between South Africa and Rwanda.
On Wednesday night, Kagame said Rwanda was ready for a confrontation with South Africa if necessary, following a claim by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that M23 fighters and Rwandan forces were responsible for the deaths.
In a strongly worded statement directly responding to Ramaphosa on X, Kagame accused him of distorting their private conversations about the volatile situation.
“If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day,” he said.
Kagame also said that the Sadc mission in DR Congo, SAMIDRC, was “not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation”.
The exchange marks a significant escalation in tensions between the two nations, whose relationship has been fragile for several years.
M23 advance continues
Meanwhile, Angola called for the Congolese and Rwandan leaders to meet urgently in Luanda.
The country, which mediated a failed attempt at talks in December before the M23 launched its latest offensive, also called for the resumption of East African Community-led discussions relating to the unrest in eastern DR Congo.
It came as Tshisekedi visited Luanda for discussions on the next steps in the Angola-led talks.
Both the EAC-led and the Luanda peace efforts have in the past failed to resolve the crisis.
After the sweeping offensive in days, the M23 is consolidating control of Goma and making further advances. Reports say the rebels have not faced any resistance so far.
They are heading south towards eastern DR Congo’s second biggest city, Bukavu, and the Congolese army has established a line of defence near it.
The UN, the European Union and countries including the US and China have all called on Rwandan forces to leave DR Congo.
The DR Congo and the UN say Rwanda supports the M23 and are present in Goma. Rwanda does not explicitly deny backing the group, and accuses the Congolese authorities of supporting militias trying to topple the government in Kigali.
The UK and Germany are among donor countries that have threatened to withdraw their aid to Rwanda in the wake of the M23 offensive.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Wednesday that £32m ($40m) of annual bilateral aid was under threat, while Germany has cancelled aid talks with the country.
Additional reporting by Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg and Barbara Plett in Nairobi
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