HomeTop StoriesRwanda-backed rebels capture a key city in eastern DR Congo

Rwanda-backed rebels capture a key city in eastern DR Congo

According to several sources, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken over the main eastern trading city of Minova.

The fall of the city puts the rebels within 40 km of the provincial capital Goma, which is close to the border with Rwanda.

It comes two weeks after the M23 captured Masisi, with the Congolese army launching a counter-offensive to retake the city.

There has been heavy fighting between rebels and government forces in the mineral-rich region in recent months, driving more than 200,000 people from their homes.

The Reuters news agency quotes Corneille Nangaa, the head of the Congo River Alliance to which the M23 belongs, as saying that “Minova is in our hands.”

The provincial governor, Jean-Jacques Purusi, confirmed the capture, Reuters reported.

A contact in Goma who spoke to the BBC also said Minova had fallen into rebel hands.

The fighting has also led to an influx of wounded people being treated in the provincial capital’s hospital, AFP news agency quoted Red Cross officials as saying.

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“Between December 1 and 21 we saw 100 patients (and) between January 1 and 20 we had 211 patients,” Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in North Kivu province, told AFP.

Since 2021, the M23 has periodically fought and taken control of large parts of eastern DR Congo. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled as a result of the violence.

Last year it was feared that the rebels would march on Goma, which has an estimated population of between one and two million.

There was a lull in fighting at the end of July, but heavy fighting resumed in October and intensified towards the end of the year.

On Monday, human rights group Amnesty International said a significant increase in attacks in civilian areas by both sides over the past month has had devastating consequences for civilians.

The M23 is often accused by DR Congo and the UN of being Rwanda’s proxy force, but Rwanda denies this.

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Last year, however, Rwanda did not deny a UN report that said around 4,000 soldiers were fighting alongside the M23 in DR Congo.

There have been a number of diplomatic initiatives by neighboring countries and others to resolve the conflicts, but these have failed.

The final talks between the leaders of Rwanda and DR Congo were supposed to take place on December 15, but were called off at the last minute due to disagreements between the countries’ leaders.

Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa

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