But with his main supplier, the nearby Heineken-owned Bralima brewery, shuttered, he expects to close his doors within the week.

"We can't hold out any longer," said Amani, as match commentary blared through the nearly empty bar. "We can't pay the rent, electricity, water or our taxes."

DRC's Tutsi-led M23 rebels, supported by Rwandan soldiers and weapons, according to United Nations investigators, have carried out their most successful offensive in over a decade this year, seizing eastern DRC's largest city Goma in January before turning south and taking Bukavu.

The push has triggered a flurry of condemnations and sanctions against Rwanda, which denies supporting the rebels, as well as efforts to broker an end to the fighting. But with peace elusive, businesses and residents in M23-held areas are digging in against the economic fallout.

--Reuters--