M23 rebels vowed on Thursday to march on the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.
The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, is a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.
Rwanda says its primary interest is to eradicate fighters linked to the 1994 genocide but it is accused of seeking to profit from the region's reserves of minerals used in global electronics.
"We will continue the march of liberation all the way to Kinshasa," Corneille Nangaa, head of a coalition of groups including the M23, told reporters in Goma.
DRC vows to continue fight
"We are in Goma and we will not leave... for as long as the questions for which we took up arms have not been answered," he said.
Nangaa said the group would restore electricity and security in the city in the coming days and establish humanitarian corridors to help displaced people return home.
Late on Wednesday, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi pledged to continue fighting.
In an address to the nation he said a "vigorous and coordinated response against these terrorists and their sponsors is under way."
UN 'deeply concerned'
The United Nations said on Thursday it was "deeply concerned" by "credible reports" that M23 was advancing south from Goma to Bukavu, capital of the neighbouring province of South Kivu.
Local sources told AFP late on Wednesday that M23 fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu.
The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has yet to comment on the M23 advances.
After days of intense clashes that left more than 100 people dead and nearly 1,000 wounded, according to an AFP tally of hospital figures, some Goma residents on Thursday ventured out to take stock.
Rwanda urged to withdraw troops
"We do not want to live under the thumb of these people," one person, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
Angola, China, the European Union, France, the UN and United States have all urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot arrived in Rwanda on Thursday to meet President Paul Kagame after holding talks with Tshisekedi in Kinshasa earlier in the day.
The offensive has heightened an already dire humanitarian crisis in the region, causing food and water shortages and forcing half a million people from their homes this month, the UN said.
Rich in minerals
The DRC is rich in gold and other minerals such as cobalt, coltan, tantalum and tin used in batteries and electronics worldwide.
Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of waging the offensive to profit from the region's mineral wealth – an allegation backed by UN experts who say Kigali has thousands of troops in the DRC and "de facto control" over the M23.
Rwanda has denied the accusations.
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