Troops 'vigorously' countering M23 push, says DRC president Tshisekedi
DR Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi said on Thursday that his troops were mounting a military response as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advanced in the east of the country.
In his first remarks since vast swathes of the eastern DRC fell to the militants, Tshisekedi said: " A vigorous and coordinated response against these terrorists and their sponsors is underway."
He also criticised the international community for failing to act. "Your silence and inaction ... are an affront to the DRC," he said in a televised address on Wednesday night.
Tshisekedi warned that the advance of the fighters could lead to an escalation across the broader Great Lakes region. He denounced the presence of thousands of Rwandan soldiers on Congolese soil and described the M23 as a "puppet".
The M23 armed group, backed by some 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, according to the UN, has been fighting the Congolese army in the region for more than three years.
On Sunday night, its forces entered Goma. By Wednesday, after sporadic exchanges of fire in the morning, fighting ceased as the M23 and the Rwandan army took up positions in most of the city's neighbourhoods.
Civilian toll
At least 100 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded, according to several hospitals. Goma's medical facilities are overwhelmed, and bodies litter the city's streets, the UN said at a press briefing on Tuesday, citing its staff on the ground.
Despite international pressure to end the crisis, Tshisekedi refused to attend crisis talks with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on Wednesday.
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