Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo claimed Friday to have seized a second airport in the region following a days-long advance, as the U.N. warned that the recent escalation of fighting with government forces has left 350,

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured a strategic airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, expanding their stranglehold over the country’s mineral-rich eastern region.

Goma remains “under occupation” by Congo’s M23 rebels and the ceasefire they announced has been broken as their forces engage in heavy fighting along the main route to South Kivu’s main city Bukavu.

(Reuters) -Rwandan-backed M23 rebels appeared on Friday to be closing in on eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, as they seized control of the nearby airport of Kavumu,