Goma, the capital of North Kivu, is both a strategic economic hub and a trade conduit to Rwanda. Rwanda frames its involvement as a necessary step to neutralise FDLR, an armed group with historical ti

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

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Rwanda-backed M23 rebels faced pockets of resistance from army and pro-government militia overnight after entering eastern Congo's largest city Goma in the worst escalation of a conflict that has run for more than a decade.

In 2012, when M23 rebels appeared poised to seize control of a major city in eastern Congo, western countries suspended aid to put pressure on Rwanda to withdraw its support.

After a lightning offensive, M23 rebels now control Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

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.

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

When M23 rebels swept into the Congolese city of Goma this week, world powers urged them to immediately withdraw. Instead, the Rwanda-backed insurgents are intent on showing they can restore order and govern.

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.

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.