The major city of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Goma, is now almost entirely under the control of M23 rebels and Rwandan troops following a swift offensive over the past few weeks. However, President Félix Tshisekedi, addressing the nation late Wednesday night, refused to admit defeat.

The rapid advance on the city of over a million residents has sparked widespread international calls to end the fighting. The United Nations, the United States, China, the European Union, and Angola have urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces. Pope Francis has also expressed his prayers for “the restoration of peace and security.”

Shortly before midnight, President Tshisekedi made his first public statement since the crisis began, addressing the nation on state television. Acknowledging the “unprecedented worsening of the security situation” in the east, he sought to reassure the Congolese people.

“A vigorous and coordinated response against these terrorists and their sponsors is underway,” he declared, praising the Congolese armed forces despite their continuous retreats in the face of M23 and its Rwandan allies.

Condemning the “silence” and “inaction” of the international community in response to “the barbarism of the Kigali regime,” Tshisekedi warned of the risk of an “escalation with unpredictable consequences” in the Great Lakes region.

“Hunger Strikes Goma”

M23 fighters and their Rwandan allies entered Goma on Sunday evening. The city, squeezed between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border, had already been under siege for several days. After intense battles, calm returned on Wednesday.

Residents who had been sheltering indoors finally emerged: “There is hunger in Goma. We need to fetch water from the lake, and we have no medicine,” Kahindo Sifa told AFP.

In the streets, bodies lay on the ground, and bullet casings littered the roads, according to AFP journalists and local residents. The clashes in Goma have left over 100 dead and nearly a thousand wounded, hospital sources report.

The M23 claimed control of Goma on Sunday, though fighting continued until Tuesday. The group previously occupied the city for about ten days in late 2012. The region has been plagued by conflict and rebellions for more than 30 years.

Despite growing international pressure, M23 launched another offensive on Wednesday, seizing the villages of Kiniezire and Mukwidja in South Kivu province, neighboring North Kivu, where Goma is the capital, according to local sources.

With this latest advance, which neither the Congolese army nor the Kinshasa government has confirmed, the provincial capital Bukavu and its nearby airstrip could soon be under threat.

Rwandan envoy to the Great Lakes region, Vincent Karega, warned on Wednesday that the M23 “will continue” advancing in eastern DRC and could even push towards Kinshasa.

Kinshasa accuses Kigali of seeking to exploit the vast natural resources of eastern DRC, while Rwanda, which denies the allegations, points to the presence of hostile groups on Congolese soil.

“Next Steps”

Following a virtual meeting convened by Kenya, the East African Community (EAC) “strongly urged” the DRC to “engage in dialogue,” including with M23, a move Kinshasa refuses.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame attended the meeting, while Tshisekedi declined the invitation, opting instead to travel to Luanda for “a joint analysis of the next steps” with Angolan President João Lourenço, according to a statement from Angola’s presidency.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, which has raged for more than three years, have so far failed. A scheduled meeting between Tshisekedi and Kagame in December, under the African Union-mediated Angola peace process, was canceled due to disagreements over the terms of a deal.

The crisis has now reached Kinshasa, the capital, on the other side of the vast Central African country. On Tuesday, angry protesters attacked several embassies, including those of Rwanda, France, Belgium, and the United States, countries accused of inaction in the crisis.

Tshisekedi condemned “acts of vandalism and looting.” Meanwhile, the United States ordered the evacuation of “non-essential government employees.”

The latest clashes have worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis in the region. According to the UN, more than half a million people have been displaced since early January.