Rwanda-backed rebels have occupied a second major city in the mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government said, as M23 rebels confirmed they were in Bukavu to restore order after it was abandoned by Congolese forces.

M23 rebels backed by Rwanda took the city of Goma in a bloody battle. This weekend, the group entered the gold-trading center of Bukavu in eastern Congo after government soldiers fled.

Burundi is withdrawing its forces from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they had been fighting against M23 rebels, four sources said on Tuesday, in a further blow to Congo's army as it struggles to halt a rebel advance.