Congolese President Felix Chesikdi traveled to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference in the efforts made to the International Support Assembly
Rwanda -backed M23 fighters claim that they took control of Kavomo Airport, which serves Bukavo, the capital of the South Kevo Province in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The airport, which is used primarily for NGOs and military trips, where the forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo were the last important military barrier for rebel forces before reaching the city of more than a million people – the second largest in the region – 30 km (19 miles) away.
According to the rebels, the rebels faced the minimum resistance as they advanced in the city, as the news agency told Agence France -Presse that the Congolese military personnel evacuated the airport and retreated to Bocafo.
Reuters news agency reported that rebel fighters also took control of Katana, a town about 11 km (7 miles) from the airport.
The movement comes before the African Union summit that begins in Ethiopia on Saturday.
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be a major topic of discussion at the two -day annual meeting. Congolese President Felix Chesiki was expected to attend the summit, but it is now scheduled to be replaced by the country’s prime minister.
TSHISECEDI attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany, in efforts to receive more international support, according to a statement issued by the presidency on social media on Friday.
Earlier this month, the AFC/M23 rebel coalition announced that it would carry out a single -sided cease -fire, but he resumed the fighting after calm for two days.
The outgoing president of the African Union, Musa Faki Mahamat, told Agence France -Presse that a ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo should be observed, adding that “military campaigns will not solve these problems.”
In late January, M23 fighters launched a quick attack and seized Goma, the capital of the province in North Kivu. Since then, the forces have been pushing south towards Bocafo, which has been seen as a strategic stronghold. The rebels sought to move south after the seizure of Juma, the largest city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The United Nations Refugee Agency says the situation “is deteriorating quickly,” noting that the ongoing conflict has displaced about 350,000 people.
After the fall of Goma, the protests erupted in the capital Kinshasa, where the demonstrators attacked a United Nations complex and many embassies, including those in Rwanda, France, Kenya and the United States, in response to what they considered foreign interference.