At an M23 news conference in Goma on Thursday, Nangaa said the rebels aim to set up a new administration in the city of 2 million people that's now home to hundreds of thousands of displaced Congolese. The rebels spoke to reporters of their plans to return displaced people to their homes, presenting a major challenge to Tshisekedi.

The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 moved south as it closed in on a key military airport in DR Congo on Friday, a day after pledging to take the capital Kinshasa and as international criticism mounted.

The U.N. says Rwanda-backed rebels are expanding their presence in eastern Congo after capturing the region's major city.

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

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 United Nations expressed deep concern at reports of M23 rebels and Rwandan troops advancing south towards the Congolese city of Bukavu on Thursday, as the militants sought also to assert their control over east Congo's largest city Goma.