Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured a strategic eastern town near the provincial capital Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, local politicians said on Sunday.
The Tutsi-led M23 group has been waging a renewed insurgency in eastern Congo since 2022. Congo and the United Nations have accused neighboring Rwanda of supporting the group with its troops and weapons. Rwanda says it has taken defensive measures.
Provincial parliament member Alexis Bahunga told Reuters that fighting has intensified in recent weeks, leading to territorial gains for the M23, which now controls Masisi, a town about 80 km (50 miles) from Goma and the local administrative center. Is.
“The government will take steps to restore state authority over the entire area,” he said.
Another parliamentary vice-speaker, Jean-Pierre Ayobangira Safari, said Massey had been taken away “for now”.
An army spokesman declined immediate comment.
Corneille Nanga, leader of the anti-government Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes M23, said rebel forces had reached the center of Masi in mid-afternoon on Saturday.
The advances and continuing fighting in defiance of the ceasefire agreement further weakened efforts to stop the conflict. A rare high-level meeting between the presidents of Congo and Rwanda in December was postponed, dashing hopes of an agreement to end the violence that has displaced more than 1.9 million people.
The head of an international organization working in Masisi said that workers there were traumatized and unable to continue business because businesses were closed, making it difficult to collect supplies.
“They don’t know how to leave the city because we are afraid that… [Congolese forces] Will launch a counter-attack,” the source said on condition of anonymity.