Residents and business owners in eastern Congo's second largest city sat in wait on Saturday morning after a night of loud gunfire marking the ongoing advance of Rwanda-backed rebels. Families remained indoors and shops remained closed as M23 fighters entered the outskirts of Bukavu — a city of about 1.

Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo have claimed that they have seized a second airport in the region following a days-long advance towards the Kavumu airport

Representatives of Congo's powerful Catholic church met on Wednesday with a rebel leader whose Rwandan-backed M23 forces last month seized Goma, the biggest city in the country's east, and have continued advancing south.