Panic gripped eastern Congo’s second-largest city, Bukavu, as residents fled by the thousands on Saturday, seeking to escape the advance of Rwanda-backed rebels. The morning after M23 fighters entered the outskirts of the city, some streets were flooded with residents attempting to leave, while looters filled flour sacks with what they could find.
The region’s factories have been pillaged, and prisons emptied, but electricity remains on, and communication lines remain open in most places. Residents are shocked by corpses burnt to ash strewn in the streets, casualties of the looters who filled the vacuum left by Congolese soldiers earlier abandoning their posts.
Congolese authorities and international observers have accused M23 of sexual violence, forced conscription, and summary executions. The rebellion has killed nearly 3,000 people in eastern Congo and stranded hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. At least 350,000 internally displaced people are without shelter, according to the U.N. and Congolese authorities.
The rebels have claimed to have seized a second airport in the region, further posing an unprecedented challenge to the central government in Kinshasa. African leaders worry that the conflict could spread, with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warning of regional escalation.
African leaders disagree on how to resolve the conflict, and despite universal calls for a ceasefire, the rebellion has inflamed historic tensions within the Great Lakes region. The Congo River Alliance blames Congolese troops and their allies from local militia and neighboring Burundi for the disorder in Bukavu, while M23 claims it is taking control of the airport to prevent Congolese forces from launching airstrikes against civilians.
International leaders are expected to discuss the conflict at the African Union summit this weekend as Congo President Félix Tshisekedi continues to plead with the international community to intervene.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/congo-fighting-bukavu-m23-rwanda-9092314a99030530e43ba73bd332af50