Corneille Nangaa, leader of the AFC rebel alliance that also includes M23, addresses a press conference at the Serena Hotel in Goma, North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo January 30,

The capture of Bukavu, a commercial hub, and of the strategic airport that services the city in the nearby town of Kavumu dealt a further blow to Kinshasa's authority and escalated a conflict that has fanned fears of an all-out regional war.

The M23 rebel group reached Bukavu, regional capital of South Kivu, on Saturday. It is the second regional capital to fall under the control of the rebels since they took up arms again against the government in 2022.

Local officials and witnesses report seeing rebels enter the eastern DRC’s second largest city after a rapid advance.

After the M23 Rwanda-backed rebels Feb. 16 occupied Bukavu, a second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo, Catholic bishops and experts are warning this offensive in the provinces of North and South Kivu signals a clear intent to establish a permanent foreign country presence in the region.

M23 rebels have advanced into the centre of Bukavu, South Kivu’s capital, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda-backed rebels reached the center of east Congo’s second largest city, Bukavu, on Sunday morning and took control of the South Kivu province administrative office after little resistance from government forces,

Passengers arriving from Bukavu disembark from the Emmanuel boat, on its first trip between Bukavu and Goma since the city was taken by M23 rebels, in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo February 18,

The Rwandan-backed M23 took control of the provincial capital Bukavu over a week ago, after capturing Goma, the capital of North Kivu and the main city in the country's east, late last month.

M23 rebels patrol the centre of east Congo's second-largest city Bukavu, in South Kivu, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/)

Rebels from the M23, backed by the Rwandan army, continue to advance in South Kivu drawing closer to the Burundian border, where troops sent by President Évariste Ndayishimiye have gradually retreated.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) strongly condemned the looting of its warehouses in Bukavu, South Kivu, amid escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)