Congo's leader has called on young people to enlist in the army to help fight Rwanda-backed rebels attempting to seize more territory in the country's conflict-battered east.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame blasted criticism of his country's role in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where rebels his government backs have seized its largest city, saying Kigali is prepared for "confrontation" if necessary.

The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.

The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade.

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.

Fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels and the Congolese army continued for a second day in Goma on Tuesday amid calls by African leaders for an immediate ceasefire.

Kagame's comments clearly suggested that he wants South Africa to back off from DR Congo, where its military involvement dates back to the late 1990s. It first joined the UN's peacekeeping mission, Monusco, following the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.

ISLAMABAD: Around 150 Pakistani nationals were stranded in violence-hit Goma following the recent escalation of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo , the Foreign Office confirmed

Calling for sustained calm, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says health workers ready to offer humanitarian health relief - Anadolu Ajansı

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.

Diplomatic sources say the bloc is facing calls to suspend its wide-ranging minerals agreement with Rwanda amid fears it is inflaming the escalating conflict in eastern DRC. View on euronews