The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) has announced plans to reinforce its defenses in eastern DR Congo as the security situation in North Kivu continues to deteriorate following the capture of Goma by M23 rebels earlier this week.

Kenyan President William Ruto, the East African Community (EAC) chair, convened a virtual summit on 29 January to discuss the worsening security situation – which Tshisekedi skipped. In his absence, the summit “strongly urged” him to engage directly in talks with the M23.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has demanded a ceasefire in Eastern DRC after M23 rebels reported to have taken over most of Goma, a major city key to the country’s vast mineral wealth.

Already the Ruto-led talks started on a wrong footing on Wednesday, January 29 after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi snubbed a meeting to discuss the security crisis in his Eastern DRC but confirmed attendance of a separate meeting convened by southern African countries.

The capture of the city has cut off the supply of goods to North Kivu, an emerging market

When M23 rebels swept into the Congolese city of Goma this week, world powers urged them to immediately withdraw. Instead, the Rwanda-backed insurgents are intent on showing they can restore order and govern.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels asserted their control over east Congo's largest city Goma on Thursday by calling on residents to resume normal life, even as the group clashed with Congolese troops as they tried to take more territory.

Uganda said on Tuesday that the United Nations has evacuated part of its staff from Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of

Congolese security forces on Tuesday tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after

The Summit is a follow-up of the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Organ Troika plus the DRC and Troop Contributing Countries to the SADC Mission in the DRC, which was held on Tuesday, chaired by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics Defence and Security Cooperation.

Uganda, meanwhile, which also has troops in eastern Congo to take on Ugandan rebels based there, on Friday said it would "adopt a forward defensive posture" due to the fighting between