Rwandan-backed M23 rebels fighting in eastern Congo seized two towns on their march towards a provincial capital, residents and the rebels said on Friday, as the president seeks international support to end the crisis.
The rebels have been trying to push south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, since they seized Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, at the end of last month.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi flew to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, the presidency said in a statement on social media on Friday. A source at the presidency said he would fly to Addis Ababa on Friday evening to attend the African Union summit on Saturday.
The conflict will be high on the agenda at the annual two-day meeting in the Ethiopian capital.
The U.N. refugee agency voiced concern on Friday at the “rapidly deteriorating” situation, saying the war had left around 350,000 displaced people with no roof over their heads.
On the ground, rebels seized the town of Katana on Friday morning, according to an M23 source, a resident and a civil society leader. The commercial centre lies 11 km (7 miles) from the strategic town of Kavumu, where Bukavu’s airport is located.
A video taken by the resident showed armed men in fatigues walking through Katana.
“M23 soldiers are blocking the road and are heading towards Kavumu – they already have control of Katana,” the resident said.
The town of Kabamba, north of Katana, was taken on Thursday, according to the same M23 source and civil society leader and a resident, who said that cellular networks were down there.
A U.N. source told Reuters M23 had advanced beyond Katana to just 5 km (3 miles) from the airport in Kavumu.
Two people who work at the airport told Reuters it had been emptied and effectively closed, with Congolese forces removing equipment including an aircraft.
The M23 source said Congo’s army had abandoned Kavumu.
Rebel leader Corneille Nangaa said the rebels had been attacked and were defending themselves.
As the fighting rages in the east, a heavier military presence has also been visible throughout the country’s capital Kinshasa, some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west of Goma, over the past week, a Reuters reporter said.
After the fall of Goma, protesters in Kinshasa attacked a U.N. compound and embassies including those of Rwanda, France and the United States, expressing anger at what they said was foreign interference. Looters ransacked the embassy of Kenya.
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