Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a rebel alliance that has besieged swaths of the nation’s mineral-rich east and forced hundreds of local troops and foreign mercenaries to surrender.

The DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, while Rwanda has denied these allegations, instead accusing the Congolese army of supporting and collaborating with remnants of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a group allegedly responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to restore government authority in the east, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized control of the city of Goma and are reportedly advancing south to take more territory.

President of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Thursday that his troopers are fighting an insurgence by the Rwandan-backed militant group M23 which recently captured swaths of land in the east.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, speaking publicly for the first time since Rwandan-backed rebels seized the eastern city of Goma, said his government was preparing a response and warned of “unpredictable consequences” for the region.