The M23 militia is ruling over a vast stretch of territory in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, threatening the sovereignty of the biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa.

(Bloomberg) -- Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured a third major town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, expanding their stranglehold over the country’s mineral-rich east.

The leader of a rebel alliance that has seized swathes of east Congo told Reuters on Thursday that insurgents were not bound by a ceasefire call from Congo and Rwanda's presidents and cast any minerals-for-security deal with the U.