M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo on January 30, 2025.
In Congo, residents in eastern Congo’s second-largest city, Bukavu remained indoors today after a night of heavy gunfire as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced in the city. The rebels, who seized Goma last month, claimed control of Kavumu airport near Bukavu yesterday. According to the United Nations government forces reportedly abandoned positions as fighting escalated, displacing three lakh 50 thousand people.
The rebellion has killed at least 2,000 people, with Congo’s government accusing the rebels of violating ceasefire agreements. International leaders are set to discuss the crisis at the African Union summit in Ethiopia this weekend.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said on X that the rebels took over Kavumu airport and its surroundings to eliminate the threat at the source.
Meanwhile, in South Kivu province, residents fled Bukavu into neighbouring towns and stocked up on household supplies in anticipation of further bloodshed in the streets. The UN refugee agency has said that shelling and looting have already destroyed 70 thousand emergency shelters, leaving those displaced with few places to go.
Residents and business owners in eastern Congo’s second-largest city are sitting in wait after a night of loud gunfire marking the ongoing advance of Rwanda-backed rebels.
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.