Several witnesses and the armed group said the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels on Sunday advanced into the centre of Bukavu City in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The witnesses added that the M23 rebels met little resistance from the government troops just as Congo accused Rwanda of ignoring calls for a ceasefire.
Bukavu is the second-largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rebel commander Bernard Byamungu told Reuters the M23 has had the city under its control since the middle of the day.
The rebels have been seeking to seize the commercial hub since taking the city of Goma in late January. Bukavu’s apparent capture deals a further blow to Kinshasa’s authority in the east of the country.
The Congolese government said rebels were in Bukavu and accused Rwandan troops of also entering the city. It stopped short of saying the city was fully under M23’s 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.
The rebels’ rapid advance since the start of the year and the involvement of troops from neighbouring countries have stoked fears of a broader regional war, rooted in tensions over power, identity and resources dating back to the 1990s Rwandan genocide.
Rwanda rejects allegations from Congo, the United Nations, and Western powers that thousands of its troops are fighting alongside the Tutsi-led M23.
It says it is defending itself against the threat from a Hutu militia, which it says is fighting with the Congolese military.
“The entrance of M23 and the Rwandan Defence Force into Bukavu … is a serious escalation that heightens the risk of a wider regional conflict – the human cost of which would be devastating,” Britain’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
On Sunday, there was little sign of the clashes and bloodshed that preceded the capture of Goma, when about 3,000 people were killed, according to the United Nations.
Bukavu residents said they had seen M23 troops passing through central districts since the early morning with no sign of opposition.
M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma posted a photo on X of a group of fighters posing in the provincial capital’s central Independence Square.
The group’s recent gains in North and South Kivu provinces mean it has captured more territory than all other rebellions since the end of two major wars that ran from 1996 to 2003. These advances have also handed them control of some of the region’s valuable mineral deposits.
Congo is the world’s top producer of cobalt, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones. It is also the third-largest global copper producer and home to significant coltan, lithium, tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold deposits.
