Goma, capital of North Kivu province and main city in eastern DR Congo, has been occupied by the anti-government armed group M23 and Rwandan troops, who seized the airport on Tuesday.
“A vigorous and coordinated response is underway against these terrorists and their sponsors,” Tshisekedi said Wednesday night in a live televised address — his first since the offensive began.
"The east of our country, particularly the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, is facing an unprecedented worsening of the security situation," the head of state added.
Tshisekedi warned that the violence risks leading "directly to escalation" in the Great Lakes region.
The rapid advance of M23 and Rwandan forces has prompted numerous calls from the international community for the fighting to stop. The UN, the United States, China, the European Union and neighboring Angola have called on Rwanda to withdraw its troops.
Tshisekedi, however, criticized the international community: "Its silence and inaction (...) constitute an affront" to the DR Congo.
On Tuesday, protesters attacked several embassies, including those of Rwanda, accusing the country of having "declared war" on them in the east of the country, and those of France, Belgium and the United States, countries criticized for their inaction in the crisis.
"I condemn in the strongest terms the acts of vandalism and looting that targeted certain diplomatic missions accredited to the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Tshisekedi said.
João Lourenço called on Wednesday for the M23 rebels to abandon the city of Goma and for the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from the territory of the DR Congo to provide stability to the populations.
The President, who has acted as a mediator in the crisis, expressed “great concern” over the “serious developments” in the East of the DR Congo that culminated in the occupation of Goma, a “serious violation of the Luanda Process”, a diplomatic initiative led by Angola. to put an end to the conflict.
The fighting has displaced more than 500,000 people since the beginning of January, according to the Congolese government.
More than 100 dead and around 1,000 wounded have been taken to hospitals in Goma in the past three days of fighting, according to a tally by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday based on hospital reports.
Kenya's capital was due to host a summit on Wednesday to discuss the situation in the country, but Felix Tshisekedi announced he would not attend the meeting, which was also due to include Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
