A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces.

The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink of seizing the key city of Goma.

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Since the M23 rebel group resumed fighting in 2021, many regional and international mediation attempts have tried to halt the war. The rebel movement's capture of the city of Goma, on Monday, marks their failure.

Kinshasa recalls diplomats from Kigali as conflict escalates between government forces, M23 rebels - Anadolu Ajansı

M23's last occupation of Goma was short-lived, and within a year they were a defeated force. This time, things are different.

The Congolese army and peacekeepers are trying to stop an M23 advance on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

Kenyan President William Ruto said Monday that the presidents of Rwanda and Congo have agreed to attend a meeting Wednesday to discuss developments in eastern Congo, where M23 rebels say they have seized control of Goma on the Congo-Rwandan border.

Heavy artillery fire rocked the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday as France warned the capital of the mineral-rich region was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops. Repeated explosions from heavy artillery and intense bursts of gunfire echoed across central Goma on Monday,

People flee the intensifying fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo region of North Kivu, as the M23, a Rwanda-backed anti-government armed group, almost completely encircles the capital of North Kivu.

In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.