Fears of attack mount in Bukavu as M23 seize key airport

Fears of attack mount in Bukavu as M23 seize key airport

Congolese troops headed to Bukavu after M23 fighters seized the airport serving the city

M23 fighters on Friday pushed on towards another regional capital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting shops and businesses to close and frightened civilians to flee, as African leaders urged an immediate ceasefire in the escalating conflict.

Congolese President Felix Tshishekedi slammed what he said were neighbouring Rwanda's "expansionist ambitions" in the vast mineral-rich region, with Kigali's troops backing the anti-government armed group.

Fears of violence in Bukavu, the South Kivu provincial capital, prompted an urgent appeal by civil groups to Congolese troops not to fight in the city, after they capitulated control of the main airport some 30 kilometres (17 miles) away.

M23 fighters met little resistance as they seized the strategic facility, security sources said, paving the way for them to head towards Bukavu.

An upsurge in violence in the restive region has sparked fears of a wider regional conflict, as a number of DRC's nine neighbours, and South Africa, already have a military boots on the ground.

Bukavu previously fell to soldiers who deserted the Congolese army in 2004 and its capture would effectively give the M23 total control of the vast Lake Kivu area, which stretches the length of the border with Rwanda.

A security source said Congolese troops, backed by Burundian soldiers, were retreating towards the southwest of the city, towards the border with Burundi.

- Ceasefire -

Fighting erupted again after a temporary lull earlier this week, and African leaders convened a crisis meeting on the situation before a full summit of African Union leaders this weekend.

"The ceasefire must be observed," outgoing AU chair Moussa Faki Mahamat told AFP in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

"Military campaigns are not going to solve these problems. There is a general mobilisation of Africa today on this issue."

But Tshishekedi -- a notable absentee from Friday's emergency meeting -- pointed the finger at Rwanda for the escalation and urged "decisive" international sanctions against Kigali.

"What's needed is to blacklist the real culprit of this situation: Rwanda," he told world leaders at the Munich Security Conference, saying the region had been turned into a "battlefield for the predatory ambitions of some of our neighbours".

"We will no longer put up with our strategic resources being plundered for the benefit of foreign interests under the complicit gaze of those who feed on chaos." 

Kinshasa accuses Kigali of wanting to steal the region's abundant natural resources, including rare earth minerals used in electronic batteries and other devices such as mobile telephones, as well as gold.

Rwanda denies the claim and maintains its national security is under threat from armed groups, in particular the FDLR, which was created by former Hutu leaders in the 1994 genocide against Tutsis.

Both countries have recalled their ambassadors from each other's capitals while the DRC has shut its airspace to Rwandan aircraft.

- 'War is getting closer' - 

Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in the latest violence, according to the United Nations, and aid agencies are increasingly concerned about a worsening humanitarian situation.

Parts of Goma, which the M23 seized late last month, are still without water, forcing locals to collect supplies from Lake Kivu, where bodies from fighting in the city have been recovered.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA has warned of a cholera outbreak, while the UNHCR refugee agency has said lack of access to the displaced -- and the targeting of infrastructure -- was hampering relief efforts.

"We urge all parties to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access," UNHCR spokeswoman Eujin Byun said on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the fighting and been forced into overcrowded and unsanitary camps on the edge of Goma.

Dozens of mpox patients being treated in hospital isolation units in Goma have also fled for their lives, the World Health Organization in Geneva said on Friday.

Burundi briefly shut its borders to fleeing Congolese from Goma and Bukavu on Thursday afternoon as it was unable to cope with the numbers, sources said.

In the Burundian border town of Gatumba, one resident who gave his name only as Gerard, said he had "been seeing Congolese people crossing the border... every day for a month now".

"It is very worrying because it means war is getting closer to our country," said the 48-year-old father of five.

strs-burs/phz/cw