The M23 and Rwandan forces on Wednesday launched a new attack on the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, seizing a mining town in South Kivu province, as they resumed their advance towards the regional capital Bukavu.
A few days after capturing the strategic city of Goma in neighbouring North Kivu, the M23 armed group had declared a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire to take effect from Tuesday.
The anti-government group announced at the same time it also had no intention of taking control of Bukavu or other localities.
However, it was gathered that intense clashes broke out at dawn on Wednesday between the M23 with its Rwandan allies and Congolese armed forces.
DAILY POST reports that the M23 fighters and Rwandan forces seized the mining town of Nyabibwe, about 100 kilometres from Bukavu and 70 kilometres from the province’s airport.
“This is proof that the unilateral ceasefire that has been declared was, as usual, a ploy,” Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said.
In more than three years of fighting between the Rwanda-backed group and the Congolese army, half a dozen ceasefires and truces have been declared, before being systematically broken.
Local and military sources said in recent days that both the DRC army and the M23 and its Rwandan allies were in the process of reinforcing troops and equipment in the region.
Recall that last week’s capture of Goma was a major escalation in the mineral-rich region, scarred by relentless conflict involving dozens of armed groups over three decades.
According to the UN’s humanitarian body, no fewer than 900 people were killed in the Goma clashes and 2,880 wounded.
The fears that the violence could trigger a wider conflict have galvanised regional bodies, mediators such as Angola and Kenya, as well as the United Nations, European Union and other countries in diplomatic efforts for a peaceful resolution.
