The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized control of Kavumu airport serving Bukavu, the capital of south Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The airport, primarily used for NGO and military flights and where DRC troops had been stationed, was the last significant military barrier for the rebel forces before reaching the city of more than one million people.
As gathered, gunmen faced minimal resistance when advancing through the town, as the Congolese military personnel deployed to the aviation hub withdrew and retreated to Bukavu, after receiving information about the capture.
Aside from that, the rebel fighters were said to have taken control of Katana, a town approximately 11km (7 miles) from the airport.
A spokesman for the Congolese army, Sylvain Ekenge, confirmed that rebels had taken control of the strategic Kavumu airport to the north of Bukavu and that Congolese troops had pulled back with their equipment.
The news of this latest advance comes as the continent’s heads of state are due to meet at an African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia.
“A ceasefire “must be observed” adding that “military campaigns are not going to solve these problems. There is a general mobilization of Africa today on this issue and I hope that we will be able to impose this ceasefire, “said the head of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat
Meanwhile, Rwandan president Paul Kageme, has denied backing the rebels, saying the country has its own troops in eastern DR Congo.
He further noted that his country’s priority is security adding that the nation is in danger from Hutu rebels in DR Congo and has dismissed any threat of sanctions.
