Rwanda-backed rebels advance into eastern Congo’s second major city of Bukavu, residents say

Ongoing advance of Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo's Bukavu prompts fear and displacement among residents and businesses.

Residents and business owners in eastern Congo's second-largest city sat in wait on Saturday (February 15, 2025) morning after a night of loud gunfire marking the ongoing advance of Rwanda-backed rebels.

Families remained indoors and shops remained closed as M23 fighters entered the outskirts of Bukavu — a city of about 1.3 million people that lies 101 km south of Goma, the region's largest city taken by the rebels last month.

The group, backed by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east. Its southward expansion encompasses more territory than rebels had previously seized and poses an unprecedented challenge to the central government's authority.

The rebellion has killed at least 2,000 people in and around Goma and left hundreds of thousands of displaced stranded, the U.N. and Congolese authorities have said.

The rebels on Friday (February 14, 2025) also claimed to have seized a second airport in the region, in the town of Kavumu outside Bukavu. The U.N. warned that the recent escalation of fighting with government forces has left 350,000 internally displaced people without shelter.

The Associated Press could not immediately confirm who was in control of the strategically important airport, which Congolese forces have used to resupply troops and humanitarian groups used to import aid.

Government officials and local civil society leaders did not immediately comment, though Congo's Communications Ministry said the rebels had violated ceasefire agreements and attacked Congolese troops working to avoid urban warfare and violence in Bukavu.