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Chaos erupted in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Saturday as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced towards the city’s outskirts, raising fears of further conflict.
The rebels, who seized Goma last month, pushed south and reached Bukavu’s northern suburb, Bagira, on Friday evening but did not enter the city centre, eyewitnesses reported.
“We are asking for one thing and cannot accept anything else: the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory,” Prime Minister Judith Suminwa told Reuters, reaffirming Congo’s stance on territorial integrity.
Tensions escalated further after Uganda’s army chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, threatened to attack Bunia in eastern Congo unless “all forces” there surrendered within 24 hours. Kainerugaba, son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, raised concerns of a broader regional war reminiscent of conflicts in the 1990s and 2000s that killed millions. While Uganda has officially supported Congo’s fight against Islamist militants since 2021, UN experts allege it has also backed the Tutsi-led M23.
Suminwa declined to comment on Kainerugaba’s statement.
Meanwhile, unrest spread in Bukavu. The World Food Programme (WFP) reported looting of its depot, which housed 6,800 metric tons of food, while social media footage verified by Reuters showed crowds carrying white sacks near the warehouse.
Additionally, the city’s main prison was emptied, with some prisoners freed by soldiers and others escaping, according to a provincial official and a Congolese army source.
Rebel alliance leader Corneille Nangaa claimed M23 forces had entered Bukavu and would continue their operation. However, a senior M23 source, two Congolese army officers, and residents denied that the rebels had entered the city centre.
One army officer stated that soldiers were being evacuated to prevent a “carnage” like in Goma, where about 3,000 people were killed before the city fell, according to the United Nations.
On Saturday morning, Congolese soldiers set fire to a weapons depot at their base in Bukavu, according to five residents and a military source.
The potential capture of Bukavu, a city of two million people, would mark M23’s most significant territorial gain since resuming insurgency in 2022, further eroding Kinshasa’s control over mineral-rich eastern Congo.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged diplomacy in a speech at the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa. “In DRC as more cities fall, the risk of regional war rises. It is time to silence the gun, it is time for diplomacy and dialogue,” he stated.
France and Belgium condemned the M23 offensive, while Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who refuses direct talks with M23, cancelled his AU summit appearance and returned to Kinshasa from the Munich Security Conference.
Kigali has denied supporting M23.
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