Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest city said on Thursday they want to take their fight to the far-off capital, Kinshasa, while Congo’s president called for a massive military mobilisation to resist the rebellion and his defence minister rejected calls for talks.

The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 moved south as it closed in on a key military airport in DR Congo on Friday, a day after pledging to take the capital Kinshasa and as international criticism mounted.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels asserted their control over east Congo's largest city Goma on Thursday by calling on residents to resume normal life, even as the group clashed with Congolese troops as they tried to take more territory.