Trucks and cars full of Congolese soldiers carrying their weapons could be seen circulating in Bukavu, South Kivu province on Friday.

M23 rebels have taken control of the strategic Kavumu airport that serves Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, the rebel group and a civil security source said Friday. The rebels also seized the town of Katana.

After the M23 Rwanda-backed rebels Feb. 16 occupied Bukavu, a second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo, Catholic bishops and experts are warning this offensive in the provinces of North and South Kivu signals a clear intent to establish a permanent foreign country presence in the region.

In North Kivu, partners report that more than 110,000 people have left displacement sites in Goma and started to move to villages in the Masisi, Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories.

Trucks and cars full of Congolese soldiers carrying their weapons could be seen circulating in Bukavu, South Kivu province on Friday. It came as Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo claimed

If the rebels capture the capital of South Kivu province, it would represent an unprecedented expansion of territory under their control Rwandan-backed M23 rebels appeared on Friday to be closing in on eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's second-largest city,

Rwanda-backed rebels have reached the center of east Congo’s second-largest city, Bukavu, and taken control of the South Kivu province administrative office

Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo entered the region’s second-largest city of Bukavu on Friday, local and civil society leaders said, the latest ground gained since a major escalation of their yearslong fighting with government forces.

M23 rebels have advanced into the centre of Bukavu, South Kivu’s capital, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

On 14 February, the M23 rebels, backed by the Rwandan army, seized control of Kavumu Airport, located about 30 kilometres from the provincial capital of South Kivu.

In the North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict,’ says UN agency’s executive director

As the M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, push further into South Kivu province in eastern Congo, the wives of the missing Congolese soldiers find themselves grappling with uncertainty, facing a harsh reality filled with unanswered questions and unstable living conditions.