Congo's leader has called on young people to enlist in the army to help fight Rwanda-backed rebels attempting to seize more territory in the country's conflict-battered east.

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

Local sources said Kigali-backed fighters were advancing on a new front and had seized two districts in South Kivu province, after the rebel group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

Regional tensions spiral as peacekeepers killed in fighting following Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group offensive

Kenya has announced a virtual crisis summit, but Congolese state media says President Felix Tshisekedi will not attend.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels behind escalating crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this week

The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade.

The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 vowed Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.

Rwanda, which diplomats say backs M23 fighters who seized Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo this week, called on Wednesday for a ceasefire across eastern Congo and for Congo to negotiate with the rebels while denying Rwandan troops were involved.

The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.

Many Congolese see the rebel advance as an invasion of their country by a foreign power in an attempt to seize land and Congo’s valuable rare minerals.