Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Congo's largest city said on Thursday they want to take their fight to the far-off capital, Kinshasa. Congo's president called for a massive military mobilization to resist the rebellion and his defence minister rejected calls for talks.

Congolese troops with support from Burundi's army appeared on Friday to be holding back a push south by Rwandan-backed rebels seeking to expand their grip on eastern Congo in a weeks-old advance that has raised fears of a broader regional conflict.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

Rwanda-backed rebels who have captured eastern Congo’s largest city say they plan to take their rebellion to the capital and seek to gain political power

In recent weeks, the armed conflict in the DRC between the M23/AFC and the Congolese army, backed by their allies, has flared up again in the province of North Kivu and spread to the neighbouring province of South Kivu.

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

Regional tensions spiral as peacekeepers killed in fighting following Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group offensive

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has demanded a ceasefire in Eastern DRC after M23 rebels reported to have taken over most of Goma, a major city key to the country’s vast mineral wealth.

"In Bukavu, foreigners are fleeing," missionaries from the capital of the Congolese province of South Kivu tell Fides. "The various embassies in Kinshasa have ordered their compatriots to leave the city because they fear that the M23 rebels could conquer it after taking control of Goma and the province of North Kivu,

The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

Meanwhile, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said his country will “deal” with any confrontation from South Africa after 13 of its peacekeepers in eastern Congo were killed.