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.

What has been a slow-burn crisis in eastern DRC has again exploded into the open. Kagame appears to have calculated that a change of US administration is a good time to strike. A peace process mediated by Angola and sponsored by the US collapsed in the dying days of Joe Biden’s administration.

Unconfirmed reports say the Rwanda-backed rebels are currently advancing towards Bukavu, the second-biggest city in the mineral-rich east, despite international calls for a ceasefire. In a televised address after the fall of Goma,