Rwanda-backed rebels advance into eastern Congo’s 2nd major city of Bukavu

15/02/2025

M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic republic of the Congo on Jan 30. (AP)

GOMA, Congo, Feb 15, (AP): Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern 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 towards the center of the city of about 1.3 million people, according to Jean Samy, vice-president of the civil society in South Kivu. He reported gunfire in parts of the city.

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 Congo’s biggest city, Goma, in late January. 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 U.N. 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 30 kilometres (18.5 miles) 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 an 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.