The M23 rebel group has taken over the town of Nyanzale in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 15 people in bomb attacks, a local official said on Wednesday.
Nyanzale is about 130 km (80 miles) north by road from the provincial capital Goma, and is home to thousands of internally displaced people who fled fighting in surrounding areas.
“It is since the morning that we noticed the capture of Nyanzale by the M23, and the death toll rose to 15,” said Isaac Kibira, a deputy to the governor in the nearby town of Bambo.
“The victims were killed by bombs fired indiscriminately by the M23,” he told Reuters, adding that 10 people were killed in one house and other bodies found throughout the city.
M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma wrote in a post on X late on Tuesday that Nyanzale was experiencing “tranquillity and deliverance,” suggesting the group has gained control of it.
When asked whether the M23 had seized Nyanzale, Congolese army commander Jerome Chico Tshitambwe replied: “yes”.
Is Rwanda opposing AU-backed SADC operation in eastern DRC?
Rwanda has reportedly asked the African Union not to support troops from southern African countries deployed to fight armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s east.
In an undated letter circulated in the media since Monday (Mar. 04), Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta allegedly says to the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) that Rwanda learned “with great concern” about a scheduled meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council.
The document says part of the meeting’s goals include assessing possible support that the AU and other strategic partners could extend to the mission.
Minister Vincent Biruta reportedly accuses the regional force of fighting alongside the DRC army and a coalition of armed groups, which include Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.
Arguing the regional force cannot substitute for a political process, the minister urges the African Union not to ‘authorise’ or fund the mission.
In mid-February, Rwanda’s top diplomat expressed concern at what he called “the abandonment of” political initiatives by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo”; namely, the Luanda and Nairobi Processes.
The M23 is a Tutsi-led group that has intensified its campaign in eastern Congo this year. U.N. experts and Western powers such as the United States and France say that the group is backed by Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.
The European Union this week called for dialogue between Congo and Rwanda in order to tackle the root causes of the conflict, saying only a political solution could end it.
“The strengthening of military capabilities as well as the use of surface-to-air missiles and sophisticated drones constitute a worrying escalation,” the EU said.
Around 100,000 people have fled Nyanzale since the M23’s advance in the last few days, said the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA.
