UN chief Antonio Guterres says the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) “territorial integrity” must be preserved after M23 fighters attacked the eastern provincial capital of Bukavu.

Addressing an African Union (AU) summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday, Guterres said a “regional escalation must be avoided at all costs”.

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The 55-nation body is meeting as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters claim to have taken control of Kavumu airport serving Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, in eastern DRC.

“The fighting that is raging in South Kivu – as a result of the continuation of the M23 offensive – threatens to push the entire region over the precipice,” Guterres told leaders at the summit, without mentioning Rwanda.

Local media said explosions went off in Bukavu on Saturday morning, with casualties reported.

With the spectre of a regional conflagration rising in eastern DRC – and international bodies increasingly sounding the alarm – the AU has been criticised for its timid approach and observers have demanded more decisive action.

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Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, reporting from Kenya’s capital Nairobi, spoke to M23 commanders who said they are in the process of “securing” Bukavu.

Army officers in Kavumu airport fled without a fight after seeing a bloody raid conducted by the armed group in Goma, said Soi. “Now M23 has the control of both South Kivu and North Kivu, which have vast mineral resources.”

M23 now has control of Lake Kivu, as well, which is of strategic importance for the transfer of supplies between the two areas.

Assault ‘will not go unanswered’

Rwanda denies giving military support to M23 but has accused hardline Hutu groups in DR Congo of threatening its security. A report by UN experts said last year Kigali maintained about 4,000 soldiers in the DRC and had de facto control of the rebel group.

Outgoing AU chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said on Friday “the ceasefire must be observed,” adding there is a “general mobilisation” among African nations to stop the clashes. Neither Rwandan President Paul Kagame nor his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi attended Friday’s AU meeting.

Tshisekedi, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, urged nations to “blacklist” Rwanda, condemning Kigali’s “expansionist ambitions”.

The European Union said on Saturday it is “urgently” considering all options in response to the widening rebel assault.

“Alarmed by news of Rwandan backed M23 forces seizing Kavumu airport and entering Bukavu, ignoring international appeals for ceasefire,” European Commission spokesperson Anouar el-Anouni wrote on X.

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“The EU urgently considers all the means at its disposal. The ongoing violation of the DRC’s territorial integrity will not go unanswered.”

The statement follows an appeal from the European Parliament earlier this week urging the EU to suspend a minerals deal with Rwanda in response to Kigali’s involvement in the offensive.

Legislators in Strasbourg on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a non-binding resolution that also called for the bloc’s 27-member states to freeze all direct budget support as well as military and security assistance to Rwanda.