The capture of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, would represent an unprecedented expansion of territory under the M23's control since the latest insurgency started in 2022 and deal a further blow to Kinshasa's authority in the east.

Nearly three thousand people have been killed in the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations, after the provincial capital was captured by rebels following days of fierce fighting with the Congolese army.

On Saturday there were reports of sporadic gunfire and widespread looting in the city, including at a World Food Programme depot, with residents sheltering in their homes. It follows conflicting reports about whether the Rwanda-backed rebels had entered the key city of Bukavu,