The M23 militant group reportedly continues to gain ground in the east of the country

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) could breakup if the situation in the eastern part of the country remains unchanged, the African Union warned on Sunday. The rebel group M23 has been on the offensive in the eastern part of the country since the beginning of the year, and has reportedly steadily gained ground. The militants have launched a campaign against the Central African nation's government and have already killed more than a dozen foreign peacekeepers.

"We don't want a balkanization of eastern DRC," the African Union's peace and security commissioner, Bankole Adeoye, told journalists while attending the organization's summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "We are calling for the immediate removal of M23 and their supporters from all towns and cities including Goma airport."

In late January, the rebels seized Goma, a city on the Rwandan border and the capital of DR Congo's eastern North Kivu province. According to the UN, they have since named their own officials in the region, including a governor and mayor for Goma.

The statement on Sunday came against a background of reports saying that M23 had taken over another major city in the eastern part of DR Congo. Over the weekend, the group seized Bukavu, the capital of the neighboring South Kivu province, according to AFP. Photos on social media purported to show the group controlling the border with Rwanda near Bukavu.

The city, which has around one million inhabitants, was barely defended by the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), AFP said. Its capture reportedly gives M23 control over the Congolese part of Lake Kivu located between DR Congo and Rwanda.
On Saturday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for the DR Congo's territorial integrity to be respected. "Regional escalation must be avoided at all costs," he said at the summit in Addis Ababa.

DR Congo claimed that some 4,000 troops from Rwanda were backing the militants. The latter country has denied involement. Last week, spokesperson Yolande Makolo told RT that the Rwandan government is committed to peace and a sustainable resolution to the conflict in the DR Congo.

The former Belgian colony's resource-rich east has been plagued by decades of violence, with dozens of armed groups, including M23, fighting the local authorities over minerals such as gold and diamonds. At least 2,900 people have been killed and more than 3,000 others injured in the hostilities, according to UN estimates.