Authorities say the rebels have seized a strategic village in South Kivu province that has routes connecting to different parts of eastern Congo.
The Congolese army says the M23 rebels carried out a surprise attack on their positions in the territory of Shabunda over the weekend. After hours of fighting, the rebels took control of the village of Maimingi in the country’s east. Violent clashes are still going on between the warring parties in the mineral-rich region of South Kivu province.
The clashes come two days after representatives of the DRC government and the rebels signed a framework for peace in Qatar. The framework is supposed to establish a ceasefire, prisoner exchanges and the restoration of state authority in the rebel-held areas among 5 other key points. Earlier this year, the M23 rebels captured the eastern DRC city of Goma and Bukavu.
The DRC government and United Nations experts accused Rwanda of deploying more than 6 000 soldiers to fight alongside the rebels to seize the cities. But Rwanda denied the accusation and blamed the DRC for supporting a Hutu militia known as FDLR that seeks to destablise its government. The United States and Qatar are trying to secure a peace deal but their efforts have not been successful so far. Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced since the fighting began in late 2021.
–ChannelAfrica–
