“The fighting continues in Kibumba”, in the territory of Nyiragongo, said on condition of anonymity a resident and a security source interviewed by telephone from Goma.
Clashes have been taking place since the end of the week in this sector, considered to be one of the last obstacles on the national road 2 towards Goma, capital of North Kivu, a city of more than one million inhabitants whose M23 has been getting closer for two weeks.
In addition, other M23 movements have been reported about 40 km northwest of Goma, in the Virunga National Park, renowned for its gorillas but also known to serve as a rear base for armed groups, in particular the FDLR (Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda).
“The rebels have advanced towards Tongo,” said Semasaka Murara, head of the Tongo groupement (administrative entity). The population is panicking, “the inhabitants of Tongo-Centre are starting to flee”, he added.
The M23, for “Movement of March 23”, is a former Tutsi rebellion defeated in 2013 which took up arms again at the end of last year, accusing Kinshasa of not having respected agreements on the demobilization and reintegration of its fighters.
Its resurgence has caused renewed tension between the DRC and Rwanda. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of providing support to this rebellion that UN experts and American officials have also pointed out in recent months. But Kigali denies, accusing in return the Congolese army of collusion with the FDLR, a movement of Hutu rebels, some of whom are involved in the genocide of the Tutsi in 1994 in Rwanda.
Several diplomatic initiatives have been launched in an attempt to ease tensions.
Angolan President João Lourenço met his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on Friday in Kigali, then the next day in Kinshasa the Congolese Head of State Félix Tshisekedi.
Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, designated facilitator in this conflict by the Community of East African States (ECA), has been in Kinshasa since Sunday, in particular to prepare a next session of peace talks on the DRC scheduled for November 21 in Nairobi.
The region has been plagued for nearly 30 years by violence from armed groups, many inherited from the wars that bloodied eastern DR Congo in the wake of the Rwandan genocide.
