Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a rebel alliance that has besieged swaths of the nation’s mineral-rich east and forced hundreds of local troops and foreign mercenaries to surrender.

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo ... the rebel offensive earlier this week.Congo and Rwanda are both members of the East Africa bloc along with Kenya, Tanzania and other states.

A potential Ebola outbreak has been reported in the DRC, at a time when the Trump administration has paused communication with the WHO.

Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to restore government authority in the east, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized control of the city of Goma and are reportedly advancing south to take more territory.

General Rudzani Maphwanya of the SANDF reveals that the M23 militia in the DRC has sustained significant casualties during a fierce battle with South African, Malawian, and Tanzanian forces, resulting in the deaths of 13 South African soldiers and three Malawian soldiers.

Parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are under siege by a Rwanda-backed rebel group. The violence has killed UN peacekeepers, overwhelmed hospitals, displaced hundreds of thousands and sparked fears of a wider regional conflict.

This introduction lays a foundation for the discussion of the East African Community and the battle for the soul of the DR Congo. However, it may be necessary to note that the Congolese hold very strong views that some countries in the East African Community are responsible for the armed rebellion in the eastern part of their country.

South Africa often uses its diplomatic heft to position itself as defender of the "global south" on the world stage, but the deaths of 13 of its soldiers in eastern Congo fighting have exposed an inability to project hard power in its own backyard.

President Félix Tshisekedi did not attend the recent EAC summit hosted by President William Ruto to discuss the worsening security crisis in eastern DRC.

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.

Kagame's comments clearly suggested that he wants South Africa to back off from DR Congo, where its military involvement dates back to the late 1990s. It first joined the UN's peacekeeping mission, Monusco, following the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.

The conflict comes amid rising global tensions after Donald Trump’s election, especially between Washington and Beijing, over control of strategic minerals like those present in the Congo.