Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured the town of Walikale in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to media reports citing local and security sources. The rebels took over the mining hub in North Kivu province on Wednesday “almost without a fight”,

Congo’s government says it will participate in peace talks in Angola with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that has captured key areas of Congo’s mineral-rich east

Angola has acted as a mediator in the conflict in eastern Congo , which escalated in late January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and took control of the strategic eastern Congo city of Goma. M23 seized Bukavu, eastern Congo’s second biggest city, last month.

The M23 militia is ruling over a vast stretch of territory in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, threatening the sovereignty of the biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa.

The leader of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo said on Thursday that a call by Kinshasa and Kigali for an immediate ceasefire "doesn't concern us" as his forces pushed deeper into Congolese territory by capturing the strategic town of Walikale.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels entered the strategic town of Walikale in eastern Congo late Wednesday, according to residents and civil society leaders, a day after the Congolese and Rwandan presidents call