Congo M23 militants seize an airfield close to Bukavu while the president looks for international assistance

M23 rebels supported by Rwanda have seized control of the vital Kavumu airport in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which serves Bukavu, the second-largest city in the province, according to a civil security source and the rebel alliance on Friday.

Since seizing Goma, the biggest city in eastern Congo, at the end of last month, the rebels have been attempting to advance south toward Bukavu.

Kinshasa’s power in the east would be severely undermined if the M23 were to seize Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. This would be an unparalleled extension of their territory.
“The city of Bukavu can no longer hold,” a Bukavu civil society source stated.

Earlier on Friday, two employees of the airport, which is mostly used for military and non-governmental planes, told Reuters that it had been essentially shuttered. Drones and military planes were among the equipment previously taken by Congolese soldiers.

In a post on X, a representative for the rebel group, which includes M23, said that the rebels controlled the airport and its environs. A civil security official told Reuters that, although previous reports from the M23, the U.N., and diplomatic sources said the rebels had arrived at the airport.

In the meantime, Felix Tshisekedi, the president of Congo, was looking for outside assistance to help bring the situation to a close. The president claimed on social media Friday that he had taken a plane to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference. In order to attend the African Union meeting on Saturday, he will go to Addis Ababa on Friday night, according to a source at the presidency.

At the annual two-day gathering in the capital of Ethiopia, the war will be a major topic of discussion.

The battle has left over 350,000 displaced people without a place to live, according to the U.N. refugee agency, which expressed worry on Friday about the “rapidly deteriorating” situation.

GUNFIRE IN KAVUMU

Men wearing military fatigues can be seen strolling around Kavumu as gunshot reverberates in a video captured by a local resident and obtained by Reuters.

The village of Katana, which is 11 kilometers (7 miles) from Kavumu, where the airport is situated, was taken over by rebels earlier on Friday, according to three sources.

Armed guys were also seen strolling around Katana in a video that a local took.

“M23 soldiers are blocking the road and are heading towards Kavumu – they already have control of Katana,” stated the citizen.

Three eyewitnesses said Thursday the town of Kabamba, north of Katana, was captured.

According to a Reuters correspondent, a greater military presence has been seen over the last week in Kinshasa, the nation’s capital, which is located around 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west of Goma, as the combat continues in the east.

A U.N. facility and embassies of Rwanda, France, and the United States were assaulted by demonstrators in Kinshasa following the collapse of Goma, who claimed that foreign meddling was to blame. The Kenyan embassy was looted and destroyed.