Protesters have attacked missions in the capital of the African country as anger grows about the advance of the M23 rebel group.

Many blame the United States, France and other allies for allowing neighboring Rwanda to fuel a conflict in the country’s east.

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.

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.

Nearly 300 foreign mercenaries hired by the Democratic Republic of Congo government to counter a swift offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the east have surrendered and were on their way home on Wednesday.

Residents of the besieged city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, say they are gripped by fear as gunshots continue to ring out around their homes, days after rebel forces claimed they had taken over.

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.

DR Congo has called on international powers to pressure Rwanda, potentially via sanctions, to end the M23 offensive

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo - The United States, France and Britain pressured Rwanda on Sunday over its support for rebels rapidly closing in on eastern Congo's largest city, as government forces struggled to halt an offensive that has forced thousands of civilians to flee.

WASHINGTON, January 31. /TASS/. The US national intelligence will provide US President Donald Trump with all information he needs in order to facilitate his efforts aimed at promoting negotiations on Ukraine, Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said.

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