Rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say they have entered the eastern city of Bukavu.
The M23 group – which the DRC says is backed by Rwanda - had previously given assurances that it had no plans to target the city.
It comes as the African Union summit takes place in Ethiopia. Siobhan McCall reports.
#drc #democraticpublicofcongo #congo #rwanda #africanunionsummit #ethiopia
The M23 group – which the DRC says is backed by Rwanda - had previously given assurances that it had no plans to target the city.
It comes as the African Union summit takes place in Ethiopia. Siobhan McCall reports.
#drc #democraticpublicofcongo #congo #rwanda #africanunionsummit #ethiopia
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NewsTranscript
00:00Congolese soldiers retreat from Kavumu Airport as M23 fighters take control.
00:07It had been a strategic base for the army and just 30 kilometers from Bukavu, eastern DR Congo's second largest city.
00:18Last month, the biggest city, Goma, fell to the rebels.
00:22Around 2,000 people have been killed there.
00:25The offensive has been at lightning speed.
00:28Residents in Bukavu are anxious.
00:32I do not know where to run to.
00:34We'll go up the mountains to the villages.
00:36I see those who are securing us are running.
00:39How can I stay with my kids?
00:41The DRC's president, Felix Tsitsikedi, was in Germany for the Munich security conference
00:47but cut short the visit as the situation escalated.
00:51How can the integrity of a country be violated like this?
00:55People massacred without the country responsible being sanctioned.
00:58This raises the question of the United Nations, which for me has become a two-tier organization
01:04depending on whether you are among the most powerful or privileged countries
01:08or whether you are among the weak and disadvantaged.
01:13The conflict dates back to the 1990s and is fueled by ethnic tensions
01:18and a fight for control of the mineral-rich natural resources in the area.
01:24The M23 fighters are from the Tutsi ethnic group
01:28and have accused the DRC of not living up to a previous peace deal.
01:32Rwanda, meanwhile, has been accused of fueling the conflict by sending over its own troops.
01:38It denies this and says it is taking defensive measures.
01:43And as more people flee, there are growing concerns about the humanitarian impact
01:48in a country that has already got millions of people internally displaced.
01:53Heavy artillery shelling and looting have destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters
01:59around Goma and Minova in north and south Kivu provinces
02:03leaving some 350,000 internally displaced people once again without a roof over their heads.
02:11The capture of Bukavu would mark an unprecedented expansion of territory that is under M23 control
02:19and there is international concern that the fighting could spiral into a wider regional conflict.
02:26Siobhan McCall, CGTN.