Congo’s leader calls for massive military mobilization as Rwanda-backed rebels expand their control

Congo’s leader called on young people to massively enlist in the army to help fight Rwanda-backed rebels who were attempting to seize more territory in the country's east as a crucial meeting of neighbors asked the Congolese government to talk with the rebels.” Rwanda's leader also threatened to “deal” with any confrontation from South Africa regarding the conflict.

In his first public remarks since the M23 rebels advanced into eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, on Monday, President Félix Tshisekedi late Wednesday vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” to push back the rebels while reaffirming his commitment to a peaceful resolution. “Enlist massively in the army because you are the spearhead of our country,” he urged young people.

The M23 rebels in eastern Congo are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, far more than in 2012 when they first captured Goma. They are one of more than 100 armed groups vying for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east with vast deposits, estimated to be worth $24 trillion and critical to much of the world’s technology.

A summit of the regional East African bloc, meanwhile, called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in eastern Congo and “strongly urged” Tshisekedi's government to hold talks with the rebels. Tshisekedi was conspicuously absent from the virtual summit attended by Rwanda, also a member.

After capturing much of Goma, a humanitarian hub critical for the more than 6 million people displaced by the conflict in east Congo, the rebels were advancing deeper into South Kivu by Thursday morning as fighting raged. The Congolese military has been weakened after hundreds of foreign military contractors withdrew and handed over their arms to the rebels.

The rebels, who have already captured several towns in South Kivu, were marching towards the center of the province on Thursday morning, witnesses told The Associated Press.

At least 13 South African peacekeepers have also been killed. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed the “Rwanda Defense Force militia” for the fighting, drawing an angry response from Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who said his country would “deal” with any confrontation from South Africa.

The South African peacekeepers, Kagame said, are a “belligerent force" working alongside armed groups that target Rwanda. “If South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day,” the Rwandan leader said on X.

Analysts say the real fight in eastern Congo is for control over the Congo’s vast mineral deposits. M23 rebels appear to be preparing to occupy eastern Congo for good, and have told The AP of their plans to set up an administration and return displaced people to their homes.

The chaotic situation with the M23 has its roots in ethnic conflict, stretching back decades to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when 800,000 Tutsis and others were killed by Hutus and former militias. M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and others involved in the genocide. Many Hutus fled into Congo after 1994.

Analysts have warned of the risk of a regional war and that securing a rebel withdrawal could be more difficult than in 2012, when the M23 first captured Goma. The rebels have been emboldened by Rwanda, which feels Congo is ignoring its interests in the region and failed to meet demands of previous peace agreements, according to Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group, a think tank.

“Ultimately, this is a failure of African mediation (because) the warning signs were always there. Kigali was adopting very bellicose rhetoric and the Congolese government was also adopting very, very aggressive rhetoric,” Mutiga said.

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Asadu reported from Abuja. AP journalist Ruth Alonga in Goma contributed.