M23 rebels vow to take Kinshasa…march on towards capital city

After taking the town of Goma, Congo DR’s largest city, M23 rebels said their ultimate goal is Kinshasa the nation’s capital City.
According to reports the rebels are poised to take Bakavu the capital city of South Kivu region.
“We will continue the march of liberation all the way to Kinshasa,” declared rebel leader Corneille Nangaa.
On Thursday, M23 fighters were reportedly within striking distance of a strategic military airport in the city of Kavumu, located about 40km (25 miles) north of Bukavu, according to local sources quoted by AFP news agency.
A United Nations spokesperson warned on the same day that the organisation was concerned by “credible reports” that the M23 was “moving rapidly” towards Bukavu, which has a population of two million.
UN experts claim the M23 – one of more than 100 armed groups vying for control in DRC’s east – is backed by some 4,000 soldiers from Rwanda, which Kinshasa says is pillaging valuable resources from the mineral-rich territory.
Rwanda, for its part, says its primary aim is to eradicate fighters linked to the 1994 genocide, accusing the Congolese military of joining forces with ethnic Hutu-led militias bent on slaughtering Tutsis and threatening its neighbour.
Congo DR President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi said Wednesday night that his army will defend the country at all cost.
“A rigorous and coordinated response against these terrorists and their sponsors is underway,” adding that the Congolese army is “fully mobilized to defend every inch of Congo’s territory.”
In response to the fast-moving crisis, leaders of regional bloc the Southern African Development Community (SADC) convened an emergency summit in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, on Friday.
The meeting follows soaring tensions between Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa after the deaths of 13 South African soldiers in DRC’s east.
Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said on Thursday: “We are ready to defend ourselves if we are attacked by a coalition including South African forces.” Agency reports