Rioters stormed embassies and started fires in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, drawing tear gas from police, in an eruption of protests over a Rwandan-backed rebel offensive in the east.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped, the Associated Press reported.

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo - Dramatic scenes unfolded in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Tuesday, February 28, as armed protesters attacked and set fire to the French and US embassies.

The rebel leader whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, said their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi's government.

KINSHASA: Vandalised embassies, looted supermarkets and piles of burning tyres marked chaotic demonstrations Tuesday (Jan 28) in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa to denounce the "inaction" of the international community over the conflict raging in Goma,

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for a urgent cease-fire in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo saying Washington was "deeply troubled" by a recent escalation in the fighting.

Rwanda-backed rebels who have captured eastern Congo’s largest city say they plan to take their rebellion to the capital of Kinshasa and seek to gain political power.

M23 rebels captured the key city of Goma in the eastern DRC Monday, forcing thousands of civilians to flee in the latest in a series of advances - Anadolu Ajansı

A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces.

Thousands fled the city of Goma on Monday as fighting raged between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda, who claimed to have captured eastern Congo’s largest regional hub.

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.