Rwandan President Paul Kagame (R) welcomes Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi (L) at the Grande Barrière border post in Rubavu, Rwanda, on June 25, 2021. Both Presidents visited places in Rubavu that was damaged by the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano on May 22, 2021 2021. During this eruption many residents of Goma in the DRC fled to Rwanda to find refuge. This meeting in Rubavu will be followed by another visit on May 26, 2021 in Goma, DRC, where Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi will visit places destroyed by the eruption. (Photo by Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Simon Wohlfahrt has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [June 25, 2021] instead of [May 25, 2021]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame (R) welcomes Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi (L) at the Grande Barrière border post in Rubavu, Rwanda, on June 25, 2021. Both Presidents visited places in Rubavu that was damaged by the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano on May 22, 2021 2021. During this eruption many residents of Goma in the DRC fled to Rwanda to find refuge. This meeting in Rubavu will be followed by another visit on May 26, 2021 in Goma, DRC, where Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi will visit places destroyed by the eruption. (Photo by Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Simon Wohlfahrt has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [June 25, 2021] instead of [May 25, 2021]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.
Rwanda-backed rebels have made inroads in the eastern DR Congo, local sources told AFP on Thursday, while the Congolese army accused Rwanda of abusing a ceasefire deal to seize territory.
Since launching a fresh offensive in late 2021, the largely ethnic Tutsi M23 rebel militia has seized swathes of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled east, displacing thousands while creating a humanitarian crisis.
Despite a truce agreed by Kigali and Kinshasa in early August, the M23 has for several days been on the offensive in the DRC’s North Kivu province, heading for the strategically significant loyalist town of Pinga.
Insisting that the Congolese army was “faithfully observing” the ceasefire, the DRC province’s military command accused Rwanda of “taking advantage” of the deal “to seize control of certain localities” in a statement issued on Thursday.
Though the truce had been largely respected by the Congolese and Rwandan armies, armed groups affiliated with both countries’ militaries have regularly violated it.
On October 23, the M23 seized the disputed town of Kalembe after fighting with the Wazalendo, a loose coalition of militias backing the Congolese army.
Since then, the Rwandan-allied militia has captured several towns on the road to Pinga, a Wazalendo stronghold which is home to one of the region’s few airstrips, security and local sources told AFP.
The Wazalendo was on Thursday fighting alongside the Congolese army to repel M23 forces near the town, they added.
“Since the morning there have been clashes between the DRC’s armed forces, the Wazalendo and M23,” a military source in Pinga told AFP on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
Several local sources confirmed the clashes to AFP, adding that the Congolese armed forces have sent reinforcements to the area.
No casualties from the fighting had been reported.
In the wake of Kalembe’s capture, ceasefire-deal-broker Angola accused the M23 of a “flagrant violation” of the truce.
France has also condemned the “continuing offensives by the M23”.
Home to a string of rival rebel groups, the mineral-rich east of the DRC has been plagued by internal and cross-border violence for the past three decades.
