The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo made her first visit on Thursday to the strategic eastern city of Goma since its capture by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, the UN mission said.

Bintou Keita, the UN secretary general's special representative, will meet representatives of the armed group and the AFC alliance to which it belongs during her three-day visit, MONUSCO said on X.

Discussions will include "the priorities of MONUSCO's mandate, notably the protection of civilians", it added.

"I'm here to listen to and express my solidarity with the people of Goma and with MONUSCO personnel. Your resilience is remarkable," it said.

Lightning offensive

The anti-government M23 launched a lightning offensive at the start of the year, taking control of Goma in late January followed by the city of Bukavu, and has set up governing structures in the regions under its control.

The resource-rich eastern DRC, bordering Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for three decades, with a resurgence since M23 went on a renewed offensive at the end of 2021.

Keita's visit to Goma comes ahead of her briefing to the UN Security Council on June 27, MONUSCO spokesperson Sakuya Oka told AFP.

The UN peacekeeping mission has been in the vast and volatile central African country since 1999 and pulled out of eastern South Kivu province a year ago, in the first stage of a planned full withdrawal.

DRC, Rwanda strained relations

Rwanda denies offering military backing to the M23 while insisting its safety is under threat from armed groups in eastern DRC, notably the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), formed by former Hutu leaders linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The late January capture of Goma and then Bukavu worsened what were already strained relations between the DRC and Rwanda.

Rwanda withdrew on Sunday from the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), denouncing what Kigali sees as a "drift" by the organisation towards the DRC.

The previous day, CEEAC heads extended for another year the mandate of Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogoa to lead the group, even though Kigali was supposed to take the reins.

DRC, M23 dialogue

Even so, there is some dialogue between the DRC and M23 as well as between Kinshasa and Kigali.

Last week, Qatari mediators presented a peace proposal to the Kinshasa government and the M23 following Qatari-hosted negotiations.

As part of a process headed up by the United States, Rwanda said last month that a definitive peace agreement to end the crisis with its neighbour would be signed in mid-June in Washington.