The AFC/M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo entered the strategic city of Uvira on Tuesday, following days of fighting that started early December.

Uvira is the second largest city in South Kivu province, whose capital Bukavu has been under rebel control for 10 months now.

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Reports said on Tuesday the AFC/M23 had captured the city that had been the main government stronghold since February on the southern axis, with the rebels having previously stopped their advance when they took Bukavu and nearby areas early this year.

The rebel movement, led by DR Congo's former election chief Corneille Nangaa, have yet to claim capture of Uvira, which lies on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and along Burundi border.

Located some 80 kilometres south of Bukavu, Uvira becomes the the third major city to fall into rebel control. Goma, the capital of North Kivu, was captured in late January, followed by Bukavu in mid-February.

The government coalition, that includes Burundian troops, genocidal FDLR militia (linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda), local militia groups known as Wazalendo and foreign mercenaries, had guarded the city for months, although the alliance was underminded by constant internal divisions and fatal clashes. The groups have also been accused of committing attrocities against civilian populations, especially Rwandophone communities in and around Uvira.

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In the recent fighting on this axis, the Burundian army seemed to have assumed the leadership of the coalition operations, launching air attacks from inside the Burundian territory in the battle for Kamanyola, leading to fatalities and displacement of thousands of civilians. Tens of hundreds crossed into Rwanda last week, many sharing hallowing tales of abuses by the coalition partners.

After retaining control of Kamanyola on Saturday, the AFC/M23 marched south towards Uvira capturing town after town in the Ruzizi plain.

Congolese soldiers and their allied Burundian troops and the Wazalendo fighters withdrew from the frontline as the rebels advanced, with some crossing into Bujumbura.

The Congolese army coalition had also been accused of imposing a blockade on parts of South Kivu, especially the strategic high grounds around Minembwe, the ancestral home to the Banyamulenge community. The AFC/M23 has on multiple occasions demanded the withdrawal of Burundian troops from DR Congo, saying the conflict was "purely Congolese."

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday in Goma, Nangaa reiterated this position, saying, "The Burundian government has taken on the heavy responsibility of direct involvement in an unjustifiable war against our people."

"Why are our Burundian brothers inserting themselves into a conflict that does not belong to them?"

Nangaa said his movement would soon restore order in Uvira and stop the harassment by the government coalition.

After the AFC/M23 captured Bukavu and appointed its governor, the Kinshasa-appointed provincial government relocated to Uvira.

The Congolese government and the rebels had multiple rounds of peace talks since April. The two signed have signed a number of agreements under the Qatar-mediated talks, including a ceasefire, but the situation on the ground has remained volatile.