The governor of the eastern DRC’s second largest city confirms the rebels’ presence after a rapid advance.

Bukavu, February 17 (RHC)-- Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have entered Bukavu, the second largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), during a rapid advance in the region, the governor of South Kivu province, Jean-Jacques Purusi, says.

“They [the M23] are in Bukavu,” Purusi told the Reuters news agency on Sunday, adding that Congolese troops had withdrawn to avoid urban fighting.

The armed group had been advancing on the city since seizing the region’s largest, Goma, in late January. The fall of Bukavu represents the most significant expansion of territory under the M23’s control since this latest rebellion started in 2022.

The Congolese government confirmed that rebels had entered Bukavu, adding that Rwandan troops were present with them.  The government, however, did not say that the whole city was under M23 control.

“Rwanda is stubbornly pursuing its plan to occupy, pillage and commit crimes and serious human rights violations on our soil,” the government said in a statement.

Earlier on Sunday, a local official, a security source and five witnesses reported seeing the rebels in the city while a spokesperson for the armed group told Reuters: “We are there.”

M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma said in a telephone message that the group was in the city.  The rebels’ senior commander was seen talking to residents throughout Bukavu, according to Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani.

“The senior commander of [the rebels] … was very active in the town, trying to talk to people, assuring them that they are now in charge of what is going on, that the DRC army fled,” Uaykani said, reporting from Goma.

The city was in chaos a day earlier, with many lootings haven taken place, and with many residents panicked and fleeing – but a sense of calm appears to now be settling in, he added.

A World Food Programme depot was also looted as thousands of civilians fled.

Claude Bisimwa, a Bukavu resident, told Al Jazeera he had transported the bodies of two slain men who were hit by bullets “inside … their house”.

“They were in their room.  We are taking their bodies to the morgue.  These were not stray bullets – the soldier did this out of his own will,” Bisimwa said.

Despite the earlier panic among some, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse news agencies also reported that scores of residents cheered on the M23 rebels as they walked and drove around the city centre.

Some chanted: “You’re the ones we’ve been waiting for.  We need change in this country.  We want work.”

A day earlier, the rebels took control of Kavumu Airport, which serves Bukavu.  They reportedly faced minimal resistance as they advanced.

The airport was the last significant military barrier for the rebel forces before reaching Bukavu, a city of more than one million people.

The development comes as an African Union (AU) summit continues in Ethiopia. The conflict in the DRC has been a key topic of discussion at the annual two-day meeting.

Addressing the summit, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said a “regional escalation must be avoided at all costs” and the DRC’s “territorial integrity” must be preserved.

“The entrance of M23 and the Rwandan Defence Force into Bukavu is a violation of DRC’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a breach of the UN Charter,” a United Kingdom Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.

“The UK calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of all RDF from Congolese territory and a return to dialogue through African-led peace processes. There can be no military solution,” the spokesperson added.

The AU has been criticised for its timid approach, and observers have demanded more decisive action on the conflict.

Rwanda denies giving military support to M23 but has accused hardline Hutu groups in the DRC of threatening its security. A report by UN experts said last year that Kigali maintained about 4,000 soldiers in the DRC and had de facto control of the rebel group.

The M23 rebels are the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of the DRC’s mineral-rich east.

The fighting has displaced more than six million people in the region and caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.  At least 350,000 people have been left homeless since the rebels’ advance into Goma.

[ SOURCE:  AL JAZEERA, AP, AFP ]