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As M23 rebels arrive in the suburbs, there is looting and destruction in Bukavu, eastern Congo.

As M23 rebels arrive in the suburbs, there is looting and destruction in Bukavu, eastern Congo.

On Saturday, chaotic scenes unfolded as Rwanda-backed M23 M23 rebels reached the outskirts of Bukavu. Meanwhile, a threat from Uganda's army chief of attacking a Congolese city raised fears that the conflict could escalate into a regional war.

Since they captured Goma at the end of the last month, rebels are pushing southwards towards Bukavu. This is the second largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

A spokesperson for the World Food Programme said that on Saturday, the depot of Bukavu which contained 6,800 metric tonnes of food was looted.

The theft of supplies will only worsen the situation for those who are in need. Claude Kalinga stated that the agency has already been suspended from its activities due to the deteriorating safety situation.

Bukavu residents reported hearing sporadic gunfire throughout the night and Saturday morning. They said that looters were responsible for the shootings.

Corneille Nangaa is the leader of an alliance of rebels that includes M23. He said Friday evening that rebels have entered Bukavu, and will continue their operations in the city Saturday.

Bagira, a suburb in northern Bukavu, was the scene of two residents claiming to have seen no fighting and only rebels.

Nevertheless, an M23 source as well as two Congolese Army officers and several Bukavu residents said that on Saturday, the rebels hadn't yet entered the centre of the city.

According to one of the officers, soldiers were evacuated from Goma in order not to have a "carnage". According to the United Nations, about 3,000 people died in the days leading up to the capture of Goma.

According to eyewitnesses, Congolese soldiers were seen in the streets of Bukavu Saturday. Five residents and a source from the military claim that soldiers in their army base set a fire to an arsenal.

Bukavu is a city with a population of 2 million, according to its mayor. It would be an unprecedented expansion in territory that the M23 has controlled since the last insurgency began in 2022. This would also deal a blow to Kinshasa in the eastern borderlands of Congo, which are rich with minerals.

In a Saturday post on X, Uganda's chief of defence forces General Muhoozi Kaineruaba said that he was going to attack Bunia, a town in eastern Congo, unless the "all forces" surrendered within 24 hours.

Kainerugaba's threat, whose father, President Yoweri Museeveni, is a source of concern, has added to the fear that Africa's Great Lakes Region could slip back into a wider war, similar to conflicts that occurred in the 1990s or 2000s, which killed millions.

Since 2021, Ugandan soldiers have supported the Congolese military in their fight against islamist militants to the east. In late January and early Febraury, another 1,000 troops were deployed there.

U.N. experts claim that Uganda also supported the M23, which is led by ethnic Tutsis.

In a Saturday speech to the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged a dialogue between warring parties.

Last weekend, leaders from the regional blocs of Eastern and Southern Africa also urged that all parties hold direct talks. However, the Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi refused to speak directly with the M23, and cancelled his attendance at the AU Summit, sending his Prime Minister to represent Congo.

Tshisekedi, who attended the Munich Security Conference on Friday, returned to Kinshasa Saturday morning, the presidency reports.

Kigali denied supporting M23. On Saturday, President Paul Kagame posted on Facebook that he told the AU peace and Security Council "Rwanda had nothing to do with Congo’s problems."

The United States warned that possible sanctions could be imposed against officials in Rwanda and Congo. The European Union announced on Saturday that it was considering all means available to protect Congo. Reporting by Dawit Endshaw in Addis Ababa and Nairobi, Sonia Rolley and Sudip K-Gupta from Paris, and Portia Crowe and Ammu Kanampilly in Brussels. Editing and writing by David Evans, William Mallard and Kirby Donovan.

(source: Reuters)