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.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame blasted criticism of his country's role in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where rebels his government backs have seized its largest city, saying Kigali is prepared for "confrontation" if necessary.

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.

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

The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, is a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.

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.

Local sources said Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province, after the rebel group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

In his first public remarks since the M23 rebels advanced into eastern Congo’s largest city, Goma, on Monday, President Tshisekedi late on Wednesday vowed “a vigorous and co-ordinated response” to push back the rebels while reaffirming his commitment to a peaceful resolution.

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.

Days after M23 rebels marched into Goma, they have ordered residents to re-open their businesses. While some residents say life is returning to normal, there is no electricity in the city; others have fled in the wake of the violence.