By James Tasamba
KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Clashes erupted on Thursday between rebels and the army in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern North Kivu province, civil society leaders said, as thousands of citizens fled their homes.
Fierce fighting was reported on Wednesday when the Congolese army said it repelled attacks launched by M23 rebels in the strategic city of Sake, 27 kilometers (16 miles) from Goma city, the capital of North Kivu province.
The clashes continued on Thursday morning in Rwibiranga village of Nyiragongo territory, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Goma, Jean-Claude Mambo Kawaya, the president of Nyiragongo civil society group, told Anadolu by phone.
Kawaya said the rebels cut off the road connecting the city of Goma through the Kibumba and Rutshuru axis.
Bertrand Bisimwa, the M23 rebel leader, said on X that government forces attacked their positions at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday in Kibumba and its surroundings in the territory of Nyiragongo.
The fighting forced thousands of people in Sake to flee their homes to Goma.
By Thursday, about 80% of Sake residents had fled to Goma as rebels continued to advance, said Leopold Muisha, leader of a civil society group in Sake.
Local media citing medical sources said six people were killed and several others injured on Wednesday in Sake as a result of the fighting.
The M23 said Wednesday that they do not intend to seize Goma city “contrary to the propaganda sponsored by the state of Kinshasa.”
International NGO Forum in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday said the escalation of conflict in the east of the country has left devastating consequences, particularly in the territories of Masisi, Rutshuru and Nyiragongo in North Kivu.
“The increase in civilian casualties and the use of heavy weapons in populated areas, including in camps for displaced people, are alarming,” Luc Lampriere, director of the Forum of International NGOs in the DRC said Thursday.
The M23 has captured several areas in the territory of Masisi and Rutshuru, located in North Kivu province.
The government in Kinshasa has rejected any form of dialogue with the rebel group.
The Democratic Republic of Congo accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels since its resurgence in Nov. 2021, a charge Kigali denies.
Since November 2023, clashes between the Congolese army and the M23 have displaced more than one million people, according to the Forum of International NGOs.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN under-secretary-general for Peace Operations on Wednesday called on the M23 for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The latest clashes between Congolese forces and M23 came as the government in Kinshasa pushes UN peacekeepers, deployed in eastern DR Congo since 1999, to pull out of the country.
Last month, the Congolese military announced the start of joint offensive with troops from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the east of the country, with an offensive mandate, mainly targeting the M23 rebels.