Congo’s leader has called on young people to enlist in the army to help fight Rwanda-backed rebels attempting to seize more territory in the country’s conflict-battered east.

The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade.

STORY: President Paul Kagame said that Rwanda was ready to, quote, "deal with" any possible "confrontation" with South Africa, should it arise over the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.

After a lightning offensive, M23 rebels now control Goma, a large city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

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.

Kigali’s support of former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila could complicate peace talks, while Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, is under siege by the M23.

In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.

The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink of seizing the key city of Goma.

Congo has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels and government forces rages around the key eastern city of Goma.

The leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda are meeting at an emergency East African summit in Kenya on Wednesday as M23 rebels, backed by Rwandan troops, tighten their grip on the strategic eastern city of Goma.