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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) \u2014 The deadly march by Rwanda-backed rebels<\/a> across eastern Congo could widen into a regional conflict drawing in even more countries, analysts warn, and the two nations most involved in the mineral-rich area might be the key to stopping the violence.<\/p>\n The M23 rebels<\/a> ‘ capture of the city of Goma last month and their reported advance on another provincial capital have drawn in concerned countries from east and southern Africa. A joint meeting<\/a> of leaders from those regions over the weekend offered no strong proposals for ending the fighting beyond urging talks and an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n Notably, they didn\u2019t call for the rebels to withdraw from Goma.<\/p>\n See for yourself \u2014 The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n At the summit\u2019s conclusion, Congo issued a statement welcoming its \u201cfoundations for a collective approach\u201d to securing peace. But there are concerns that long-shifting alliances in the region also could lead to a collective collapse.<\/p>\n Asking neighbors for help<\/p>\n Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi had sought the help of allies in the region and beyond when the M23 rebels resurfaced at the end of 2021.<\/p>\n Troops from Burundi, with its own tense relations with Rwanda, were sent to fight alongside Congolese forces. Troops from Tanzania, which hosted the weekend summit, were deployed in Congo under the banner of a regional bloc. And Uganda, on poor terms with Rwanda, had already deployed hundreds of troops to fight a different rebel group in eastern Congo.<\/p>\n For Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, it was \u201clike juggling a polygamous marriage\u201d as he maneuvered to protect his vast country’s territorial integrity, said Murithi Mutiga, Africa director at the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n \u201cRwanda felt excluded while Burundi and Uganda were welcome\u201d in eastern Congo, Mutiga said. \u201cRwanda decided to assert itself.\u201d<\/p>\n A surge in fighting<\/p>\n Congolese authorities see the M23 rebels as a Rwandan proxy army driven to illegally exploit eastern Congo\u2019s vast mineral resources, whose value is estimated in the trillions of dollars.<\/p>\n The rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from Rwanda, according to evidence collected by United Nations experts.<\/p>\n The M23 rebellion stems partly from Rwanda\u2019s decades-long concern that other rebels \u2014 ethnic Hutus opposed to Rwanda’s government and accused of participating in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide \u2014 have been allowed to operate in largely lawless parts of eastern Congo.<\/p>\n Rwanda’s longtime President Paul Kagame accuses Tshisekedi of overlooking the concerns of Congo’s ethnic Tutsis after hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were killed in the genocide.<\/p>\n The M23’s ranks contain many Congolese Tutsis.<\/p>\nTrusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox<\/h3>\n