DRC fighting forces 200,000 people to flee as M23 advances, dozens killed

About 200,000 radical person fled their homes successful the eastbound Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) successful caller days, the United Nations says, arsenic Rwanda-backed rebels swarm a strategical municipality conscionable days aft a United States-led bid effort, which present appears nether terrible threat.

The M23 equipped radical pushed into the outskirts of the strategical metropolis of Uvira in South Kivu state connected Tuesday, section authorities said, arsenic portion of a caller violative successful which astatine slightest 74 radical had been killed, according to the UN.

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The latest fighting comes contempt a US-mediated bid statement signed past week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents successful Washington, DC. The accord did not see the rebels, who are negotiating separately with the DRC and agreed earlier this twelvemonth to a ceasefire that some sides impeach each different of violating, but it obliges Rwanda to halt enactment for equipped groups.

Despite the renewed warring conscionable opening connected Monday, the M23 has managed to seizure respective strongholds, including Uvira now, “a large gain”, said Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani, reporting from Goma, the biggest metropolis successful the eastbound DRC.

Uvira has not conscionable been a subject basal but besides the administrative spot for the authorities since they were chased retired from the municipality of Bukavu successful January, helium said.

“So it was astir similar a stronghold of the authorities position, from wherever they reorganised themselves,” Uaykani said, adding that it was besides a spot the authorities was hoping to pursuit retired the rebels from.

“There is nary DRC service successful show due to the fact that the bulk of them took the vessel yesterday to transverse into the neighbouring state of Tanganyika, and the bulk of them are inactive making their mode forward,” helium added.

Gunshots were heard successful the greeting successful the cardinal city, and the service looted the governor’s bureau portion leaving the town, Uaykani said.

Uvira is simply a strategical tract due to the fact that the metropolis borders Burundi, and the Burundian service has been supporting the DRC for the past 2 years, helium explained.

The M23 radical is battling Congolese troops and different section groups, known arsenic Wazalendo, successful villages northbound of Uvira.

Marafiki Masimango, a typical of Uvira civilian society, said precocious connected Tuesday that rebels were pushing southbound into South Kivu. He said residents were panicked.

A elder Congolese service serviceman besides confirmed to The Associated Press quality bureau that soldiers were fleeing the rebel violative and heading southbound and eastbound towards Burundi.

Corneille Nangaa, person of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebel coalition, urged fleeing soldiers not to wantonness the town.

“You are Congolese … and Wazalendo soldiers. Do not fly Uvira. Wait for america to escaped you,” said Nangaa of the AFC, a wide conjugation of which M23 is simply a part.

Back to the negotiating table?

In Washington, DC, the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes (ICG), an informal monitoring radical of respective countries, including the US and the European Union, precocious connected Tuesday voiced “profound concern” implicit the renewed violence, the ICG said successful a associated statement.

It said the caller M23 rebel violative “has a destabilising imaginable for the full region”.

Despite the group’s volition to beforehand connected Uvira, M23 person Bertrand Bisimwa reiterated the group’s enactment for Qatari-led bid talks successful Doha, wherever representatives from the 2 sides signed a model statement past period for a bid woody aimed astatine ending warring successful the eastbound DRC.

“Even if we counterattack, we said that determination are nary different solutions successful the existent situation than the negotiating table, and we privation to bring Kinshasa to the negotiating table,” Bisimwa said.

Rwanda denies supporting the rebels successful the DRC, though Washington and the UN accidental grounds of Rwandan backing is clear. Before the latest surge successful fighting, the struggle had already displaced astatine slightest 1.2 cardinal people.

In a code to lawmakers connected Monday, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of violating the commitments it made successful the US.

A elder Trump medication authoritative said Washington was monitoring the situation, moving with the DRC and Rwanda, and that “the president has made wide to some sides that implementation is what helium volition judge, and arsenic helium stated, helium is expecting contiguous results”.