The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.
Anti-Rwandan protests broke out in Kinshasa Tuesday morning, as rebels battled Congolese forces in the key eastern city of Goma.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has arrived in Congo's capital Kinshasa, an official at the presidency said on Thursday, as Rwanda-backed rebels consolidated control of Goma in the east of the African country.
President Paul Kagame said Rwanda was ready for "confrontation" as he rejected criticism over his backing for M23 rebels who were pushing south on Thursday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing the major city of Goma.
In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.
Rioters stormed embassies and started fires in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, drawing tear gas from police, in an eruption of protests over a Rwandan-backed rebel offensive in the east.
Police in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fired tear gas at protesters in the capital, Kinshasa, on Tuesday, after embassies were attacked over the conflict in the country's east.
Local sources said Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province, after the rebel group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.
On January 28, a mass demonstration took place in Kinshasa in support of the Congolese army and against the policy of several countries, including France, towards Rwanda. It was accompanied by attacks
France's foreign minister was due in Rwanda on Thursday after talks in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of efforts to prevent a regional escalation following the capture of the eastern Congolese city of Goma by M23 rebels and Rwandan troops.