Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in DRC have reached a strategic airport that services Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province

M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have captured the eastern city of Bukavu with the backing of Rwandan forces, the second major city in the mineral-rich Kivu region to fall in three weeks.

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.