Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have entered the eastern DR Congo town of Uvira, near the Burundian border, in the biggest escalation in months of the long-running war, sources said on Wednesday.
Uvira, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, has served as the headquarters of the Kinshasa-appointed government in South Kivu province and its regional military base since the provincial capital, Bukavu, fell to M23 in February.
Control of Uvira could open the way for the rebels to advance beyond South Kivu.
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The latest breakthrough in M23’s advance through the mineral-rich region comes less than a week after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met with President Donald Trump in Washington and affirmed their commitment to a US-brokered peace deal.
Since then, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have accused each other of violating that agreement.
DR Congo’s foreign minister has urged Washington to expand targeted sanctions against Rwanda to “restore the credibility” of its mediation efforts.