A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.

President Paul Kagame says that his country will pursue its policy to block used clothes

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday spoke separately with the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda about the escalating conflict in eastern Congo, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday talked over the phone with the presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to discuss the escalating conflict in the DRC, a UN spokesman said.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has agreed to the need for ceasefire negotiations and peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote in a post on X in Monday night.

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.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has held talks with his Rwandan counterpart over the escalating violence in DR Congo, where 13 soldiers from South Africa have been killed in recent unrest.The South Africa military said Tuesday four more of its soldiers were killed after nine were confirmed dead last week in clashes with the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

We seem to be drifting back into the world of ‘Might Makes Right’. That would be a bad place to be. Last June, the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, said that he was ready to go to war with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo) if necessary.

After three years on the run from the Rwandan-backed M23 insurgency in eastern Congo, on Sunday, with the rebels fighting their way into Goma's city outskirts, Colleta Nzambonimpa found herself in church with nowhere left to turn.

The M23 rebel group has made significant territorial gains along the border with Rwanda in recent weeks, closing in on Goma, the provincial capital.

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