A rebel group has said it has advanced into Bukavu, the second largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with residents reporting looting and fighters in the streets.

The DRC government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group, a claim that Rwanda denies. Kigali, in turn, alleges that Kinshasa collaborates with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu armed group with ties to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an allegation the DRC rejects.

Rebels from the Rwandan-backed M23 group have entered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic