Rwanda-backed rebels reached the center of east Congo’s second largest city, Bukavu, on Sunday morning and took control of the South Kivu province administrative office after little resistance from government forces,

Panic swept through eastern Congo’s second-largest city on Saturday as residents fled by the thousands, scrambling to escape the looming advance of Rwanda-backed rebels. The morning after M23 fighters entered the outskirts of Bukavu — a city of about 1.

Rwanda-backed rebels captured a second major strategic city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, expanding their dominance over the country’s mineral-rich east amid the widening conflict.