French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has arrived in Congo's capital Kinshasa, an official at the presidency said on Thursday, as Rwanda-backed rebels consolidated control of Goma in the east of the African country.

By Benoit Nyemba and David Lewis KINSHASA (Reuters) -Rioters stormed embassies and started fires in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa on Tuesday, drawing tear gas from police, in an eruption of protests over a Rwandan-backed rebel offensive in the east.

Gaps in securing Uganda’s embassy in Kinshasa are to blame for the attacks that forced the diplomats into hiding on January 28, Daily Monitor has learnt.

Anti-Rwandan protests broke out in Kinshasa Tuesday morning, as rebels battled Congolese forces in the key eastern city of Goma.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

France has slammed a series of attacks on diplomatic missions in Kinshasa, fuelled by tensions over the M23 rebel conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DR Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi said on Thursday that his troops were mounting a military response as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advanced in the east of the country.

Former president Thabo Mbeki says that for as long as the Democratic Republic of Congo refuses to look after the Rwandan-speaking Congolese population in the eastern part of the country, then military groups like M23 will continue to exist.

Walking through the crowded streets of the Pakadjuma neighborhood in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, I am struck by the vibrant atmosphere around me.

Protesters ransacked the embassies of Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and others in Kinshasa and attempted to set them on fire, accusing those countries of supporting or failing to stop the M23 rebels

President Museveni has expressed willingness to participate in regional peace talks to end hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Minister of State for Regional Affairs John Mulimba has revealed.