After capturing Kavumu airport, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advancing in South Kivu's capital Bakavu

Fighters from the M23 rebel group, backed by Rwandan troops, entered the eastern Congolese city of Bukavu on Friday (February 14) after seizing Kavumu Airport, AFP cited security and humanitarian sources as saying.

The rebels and their Rwandan allies met little resistance as they advanced into Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, a city of one million people.

Ladd Serwat, Senior Africa Analyst at conflict data mapping organisation ACLED, on Friday said that, “The initial rapid pace of the M23-RDF southward offensive sparked concerns over the limited resistance in South Kivu province.”

How did M23 advance so quickly?

According to ACLED data, one reason the M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces were able to quickly advance into South Kivu is that, earlier in January, they had engaged in widespread clashes and gained control of areas from Congolese forces around Minova, which is located in the northern part of South Kivu province.

These rapid gains come amid growing fears of a broader regional conflict, with several of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) neighbours, including South Africa, already deploying troops to the restive region.

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Tshisekedi condemns Rwanda’s ’expansionist ambitions’

As the rebels closed in, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of fueling the crisis and pursuing “expansionist ambitions” in the mineral-rich region.

“We will no longer put up with our strategic resources being plundered for the benefit of foreign interests under the complicit gaze of those who feed on chaos,” Tshisekedi told world leaders at the Munich Security Conference.

Kinshasa has long accused Kigali of supporting M23 in a bid to control the region’s vast reserves of gold and rare earth minerals, which are essential for electronic devices.

Rwanda denies backing the rebels, arguing that its security is under threat from armed groups, particularly the FDLR, a faction formed by Hutu extremists involved in the 1994 genocide against Tutsis.

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In response to the escalating violence, DRC recalled its ambassador from Rwanda and shut its airspace to Rwandan aircraft.

African Union calls for ceasefire

As businesses shut down and civilians fled Bukavu, African leaders issued an urgent ceasefire call.

“The ceasefire must be observed,” outgoing African Union Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said from Addis Ababa, where leaders gathered ahead of a weekend summit.

Tshisekedi, however, did not attend the AU crisis meeting, opting to stay in DRC to monitor the worsening security situation, a government official said.

Local civil society groups, fearing urban warfare, appealed to Congolese forces to avoid fighting inside Bukavu. The city last fell into rebel hands in 2004, when soldiers who deserted the Congolese army briefly seized control.

Worsening humanitarian crisis

The United Nations estimates nearly 3,000 people have been killed in the latest surge of violence. In Goma, a city to the north that M23 captured late last month, thousands remain without access to clean water, forcing residents to collect supplies from Lake Kivu, where bodies from the fighting have been recovered.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of a cholera outbreak, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported an increase in mpox cases among displaced civilians in overcrowded camps near Goma.

The UNHCR refugee agency has also raised alarm over the targeting of infrastructure and lack of access to displaced populations, further hampering relief efforts.

With inputs from AFP