KINSHASA (Reuters) -- Government forces and local militias have clashed south of the provincial capital of Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as troops fall back in the face of an advance by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, military sources and townsfolk say.
The troops and their militia allies were meant to pull back from Bukavu - a trading and mining industry hub - to avoid urban battles with the rebels and to dig in elsewhere to stall the rapid offensive.
The militias wanted to stand and fight.
By the time the rebels started moving into Bukavu over the weekend, the plan was unraveling into chaos, a Congolese general, a senior officer, a community leader, and several residents told Reuters.
Having already lost Congo’s main eastern city of Goma, near the Rwandan border, the forces deployed to defend Bukavu and its 1.3 million people hastily packed up and left.
Direct clashes with the M23 were largely avoided, but towns south of Bukavu then found themselves in the middle of firefights as pro-government militia fighters, known as the Wazalendo, tried to disarm or halt retreating or deserting Congolese soldiers.
The disorderly retreat and the ease with which the M23 rebels have overrun eastern Congo’s two major cities have stoked fears of a breakup of the country, a regional war that could drag in Uganda, and open talk in Kinshasa of a possible coup against Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi.
“It’s total chaos,” said a civil society source in Kamanyola, one of several towns where residents have reported clashes in recent days between Congolese troops and their one-time allies.
The rebels, backed by Rwanda, are led by ethnic Tutsis and say they are fighting for their rights.
Various militias are also vying for control of the region’s abundant mineral resources such as tantalum and cobalt, key components of electric vehicles, mobile phones and other technological products used across the world.
Congo is also the top supplier of copper to China.
On Sunday, as reports of the messy Bukavu withdrawal emerged, there were signs of growing unease in the capital.
“Tshisekedi was elected by the Congolese people for a five-year term. We will not accept any coup,” Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said on X.
The disarray in South Kivu will also add to criticism of the decision to recruit the Wazalendo, or Patriots, the loose alliance of militias that are often poorly trained and undisciplined.