The March 23 movement (M23) rebels have told Tanzania that they will attack and kill its troops if they join a UN mission aimed at neutralizing armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe says.

"This is intimidation, they must stop it," Membe told parliament on Saturday.

Membe said the 1,000 Tanzanian soldiers, who are part of a new 3,000-strong UN force, would respond to any aggression from the M23. "If they provoke us, we will retaliate."

"We are not going to Congo as lords of war, we are going there as advocates of peace to help our neighbors," the Tanzanian foreign minister stated.


Last month, Bertrand Bisimwa, the M23’s political leader, sent a letter to Tanzania's parliament, saying the rebels had defeated even "larger and better equipped" armies. He warned that the same would happen to Tanzanian soldiers if they went ahead with their "dangerous adventure".

Membe dismissed the M23 threats, saying, “Our army is very strong. We will be in the DRC as a force for peace, to restore peace in the burning house of our neighbor."

He accused the M23 rebels of "killing, raping and forcing several thousand people to flee."

Several armed groups, including the M23 rebels, are active in the east of the DRC and fighting for control of the country’s vast mineral resources, such as gold, the main tin ore cassiterite, and coltan (columbite-tantalite), which is used to make many electronic devices, including cell phones.

Since early May 2012, nearly 3 million people have fled their homes in the eastern Congo. About 2.5 million have resettled in Congo, but more than 460,000 have crossed into neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.

Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on since 1998 and left over 5.5 million people dead.