The Army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) have engaged in new clashes on Friday in the province of North Kivu, in the east of the country, amid the intensification of fighting in recent months.
A resident quoted by the Congolese news portal Actualité has indicated that the clashes have broken out on the axis between Kahunga and Mabenga, in the territory of Rutshuru, with no casualties reported for the moment.
«We have heard detonations in Mabenga since 8.10 a.m. (local time). I do not know who initiated the attacks. We have left the area. The schools have sent the children home», detailed this source, who indicated that the M23 «was already occupying the Mabenga bridge».
The president of the Rutshuru civil society, Jean Claude Mbabaze, affirmed that the army had made progress in the area, taking the bridge and moving towards Kahunga, although the M23 emphasized that it had repelled the military offensive.
In this sense, Bertrand Bisimwa, a senior official of the rebel group, has indicated that, although the military «have infiltrated behind the lines in Kahunga, they have not taken the Mabenga bridge». «We have blocked the attack, destroyed one battle tank and recovered another,» he stressed.
The clashes have erupted just days after the Congolese Army executed bombings against the M23 in the area, after which the group accused Kinshasa of «not wanting peace» and «maintaining the option of war, in rejection of the call for dialogue made by the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the East African Community (EAC)».
«Our movement reiterates its commitment to a direct dialogue with the Congolese government to achieve lasting peace in our country,» said M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka, according to the Congolese news portal 7sur7.
The conflict has also led to a diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda, which Kinshasa accuses of supporting the M23, although Kigali has rejected these claims and has accused its neighbor of allegedly supporting the rebel movement of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against DRC Army positions in North Kivu, seven years after the parties reached a truce. UN experts have accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the rebels, although both countries have denied this.
