Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) entered the region’s second-largest city of Bukavu on Friday, local and civil society leaders said, the latest ground gained since a major escalation of their yearslong fighting with government forces.
The M23 rebels entered the city’s Kazingu and Bagira zone and were advancing toward the center of the city of about 1.3 million people, said Jean Samy, vice-president of the civil society in South Kivu.
He reported gunfire in parts of the city.
Photo: AFP
Videos posted online appeared to show rebels marching toward the Bagira area. In one of the videos, a voice in the background shouted: “They are there... There are many of them.”
Hours earlier, the rebels had claimed to have seized a second airport in the region, in the town of Kavumu, following a days-long advance, while the UN warned that the recent escalation of fighting with government forces has left 350,000 internally displaced people without shelter.
The M23, which is supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, took control of eastern DR Congo’s biggest city, Goma, in late last month. The rebels are the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east.
The rebellion has killed at least 2,000 people in and around Goma and left hundreds of thousands of displaced people stranded, the UN and Congolese authorities have said.
The Associated Press could not immediately confirm who was in control of the Kavumu national airport, which is located about 30km from Bukavu, which is the capital of South Kivu province. Government officials and civil society leaders did not immediately comment.
Kavumu airport became a target after the M23 rebels seized Goma and its international airport. Goma is a critical trade and humanitarian hub that hosted many of the close to 6.5 million people displaced in the conflict, the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said on X that the rebels took over Kavumu airport and its surroundings to “eliminate the threat at the source.”
“The airport posed a danger to the civilian population,” he said.
The DR Congo Ministry of Transport and Channels of Communication issued a statement criticizing the rebels for violating a ceasefire that regional leaders have called for.
The rebels were “imposing an urban war by attacking the positions of the FARDC [Congolese military] who are keen to avoid bloodshed in Bukavu,” the ministry said.
A local civil society leader in Kavumu reported seeing soldiers “abandon their positions and head towards Bukavu.”
“This caused fear within the community, [and] I took the necessary measures to bring my family to safety,” the leader said, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi criticized what he described as the failure of the international community to stop the aggression from the rebels and troops from Rwanda.
“This raises the question of the United Nations, which for me has become a two-tier organization depending on whether you are among the powerful or privileged [countries] or whether you are among the weak and disadvantaged,” said Tshisekedi, who is attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
The rebels’ latest advance caused chaos and panic among residents in different parts of South Kivu. Some were fleeing from Kavumu into the provincial capital of Bukavu, while others were emptying from Bukavu into neighboring towns.
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