Rwanda-Backed Rebels Capture Second Major City In Eastern Congo

(MENAFN- Live Mint) (Bloomberg) -- Rwanda-backed rebels captured a second major strategic city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, expanding their dominance over the country's mineral-rich east amid the widening conflict.

After taking control of the nearby airport, the M23 walked into Bukavu on Friday and faced little resistance as Congo's army retreated, according to the United Nations. The fall of Bukavu marks a major escalation in the conflict between Congo, M23 and its Rwandan backers, coming two weeks after the rebels seized the city of Goma on the north shore of Lake Kivu, leaving more than 3,000 people dead and a similar number wounded.

“M23 is currently in Bukavu, but no active fighting is reported,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York Friday, citing humanitarian partners on the ground.

The M23 now controls the two main airports and trading hubs in the region as well as the entirety of Lake Kivu along Congo's and Rwanda's shared border. The Congolese army has been unable to stop the rebels and Rwandan forces, despite support from the army of neighboring Burundi, dozens of local militias and peacekeepers from South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi and the UN.

Regional War

The international nature of the conflict - Ugandan troops are also present in eastern Congo - has raised concern that a regional war may erupt similar to the one that embroiled most of Central Africa a quarter of a century ago.

Leaders around the world condemned the invasion of Goma and have called for peace talks and a ceasefire, and for Rwandan soldiers to leave Congo.

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