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.

The rebel leader whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, said their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi's government.

President Félix Tshisekedi did not attend the recent EAC summit hosted by President William Ruto to discuss the worsening security crisis in eastern DRC.

The weeks-long march of the M23 armed group has prompted calls for crisis talks, as well as rising international criticism and warnings of a looming humanitarian crisis.

KINSHASA -- Tensions remained high in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday as the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion advanced in the country's North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

President of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Thursday that his troopers are fighting an insurgence by the Rwandan-backed militant group M23 which recently captured swaths of land in the east.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, speaking publicly for the first time since Rwandan-backed rebels seized the eastern city of Goma, said his government was preparing a response and warned of “unpredictable consequences” for the region.