DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi vows ‘vigorous’ response to M23 rebels in Goma

Meanwhile, Angola called for the Congolese and Rwandan leaders to meet urgently in Luanda.

The country, which mediated a failed attempt at talks in December before the M23 launched its latest offensive, also called for the resumption of East African Community-led discussions relating to the unrest in eastern DR Congo.

It came as Tshisekedi visited Luanda for discussions on the next steps in the Angola-led talks.

Both the EAC-led and the Luanda peace efforts have in the past failed to resolve the crisis.

After the sweeping offensive in days, the M23 is consolidating control of Goma and making further advances. Reports say the rebels have not faced any resistance so far.

They are heading south towards eastern DR Congo’s second biggest city, Bukavu, and the Congolese army has established a line of defence near it.

The UN, the European Union and countries including the US and China have all called on Rwandan forces to leave DR Congo.

The DR Congo and the UN say Rwanda supports the M23 and are present in Goma. Rwanda does not explicitly deny backing the group, and accuses the Congolese authorities of supporting militias trying to topple the government in Kigali.

The UK and Germany are among donor countries that have threatened to withdraw their aid to Rwanda in the wake of the M23 offensive.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Wednesday that £32m ($40m) of annual bilateral aid was under threat, while Germany has cancelled aid talks with the country.

Additional reporting by Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg and Barbara Plett in Nairobi