Authorities say M23 rebels have captured the town of Minova, the commercial hub of the eastern provincial capital of Goma.
M23 rebels have captured the eastern DR Congo town of Minova, a key supply route to the provincial capital Gomu, authorities said.
The provincial governor of South Kivu, Jean-Jacques Purusi, confirmed the capture of Minova on Tuesday, adding that the rebels also captured the mining towns of Lumbishi, Numbi and Shanje in the same province, as well as the town of Bweremana in the neighboring province. North Kivu Province.
The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) admitted that the rebels had made a “breakthrough” in Minova and Bweremana. It is not said whether the cities were conquered.
M23, or the March 23 Movement, is an armed group made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than 10 years ago. Since its resurgence in 2022, M23 has continued to gain ground in eastern DRC.
It is one of about 100 armed groups fighting for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, in decades long conflict which created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
Since 1998, approximately six million people have been killed, while approximately seven million have been internally displaced.
More than 237,000 people have been displaced by fighting in eastern Congo since the start of this year, the United Nations refugee agency said in a report released Monday.
DRC i United Nations they accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 with troops and weapons – something Rwanda denies.
Battles of Goma
Fighting is raging on several fronts around Goma, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced around the outskirts of the city, which was briefly captured by the M23 in 2012.
Speaking from Goma, Al Jazeera’s journalist Alain Uaykani said that “people in Goma are worried about bombs coming from the front line and reaching neighborhoods in the city.”
Many roads leading to Goma have been cut off by fighting, and people often cross Lake Kivu with supplies on overloaded boats. There are frequent shipwrecks on the lake.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that most international organizations and non-governmental organizations based in Minova have temporarily suspended their activities.
