Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Congo’s largest city said they want to take their fight to the far-off capital, Kinshasa.
It comes as Congo’s president called for a massive military mobilisation to resist the rebellion and his defence minister rejected calls for talks.
In a video message, Congo’s Defence Minister Guy Kabombo Muadiamvita said he has directed plans for any dialogue with the rebels to “be completely burned immediately”.
Rebel leader Corneille Nangaa addresses a news conference in Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)
“We will stay here in Congo and fight. If we do not stay alive here, let’s stay dead here,” said Mr Muadiamvita, a close ally of Congo’s president.
At a briefing where they sought to assert their control over the eastern city of Goma and surrounding territory in the neighbouring South Kivu province, the M23 rebels said they would be open to dialogue with the government, also proposed by the east African regional bloc of which Rwanda is a member.
Their motive, however, is to gain political power, Corneille Nangaa, one of the political leaders of M23, said during the briefing.
“We want to go to Kinshasa, take power and lead the country,” Nangaa said.
He did not indicate how the rebels planned to advance on the capital, more than 1,500 kilometres (nearly 1,000 miles) away.
Rwanda’s leader, Paul Kagame said he spoke with Angola’s President Joao Lourenco — a mediator in the conflict who also met with Congo’s leader a day earlier — and both leaders committed to working with other African countries to resolve the hostilities.
M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump described the conflict as a “very serious problem” when asked about it on Thursday but declined to comment further.
A UN spokesman said the agency is “disturbed” by reports that neighbouring Rwandan forces have crossed the border in the direction where the rebels are said to be advancing.
The M23 rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, according to UN 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, which holds vast deposits estimated to be worth 24 trillion dollars that are critical to much of the world’s technology.
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, meanwhile, called on young people to enlist massively in the military, as a crucial meeting of neighbours asked the Congolese government to talk with the rebels.
Rwanda’s leader also threatened to “deal” with any confrontation with South Africa, which has complained that fighting in eastern Congo has left South African peacekeepers dead.
Government soldiers and police officers, at right, who surrendered to M23 rebels, left, board trucks to an undisclosed location in Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)
In his first public remarks since the M23 rebels advanced into Goma on Monday, Mr Tshisekedi vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” from his forces to push back the rebels while reaffirming his commitment to a peaceful resolution.
On Thursday, he met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Kinshasa, the Congolese presidency said on X, formerly Twitter, noting that France has provided significant support to Congo in recent UN meetings on the issue.
“(Congo) expects a little more action in the face of this crisis,” it added.