Fighting between government and M23 rebels intensifies in DRC

Fighting has intensified in a strategic town in the war-stricken east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between government forces and M23 rebels, local sources said.

The clashes took place in Kanyabayonga, which lies on the northern front of the conflict in North Kivu province. The province has been rocked by violence since 2021 when the M23 (March 23 Movement) resumed its armed campaign in the region.

The town is considered a pathway to Butembo and Beni in the north, strongholds of the Nande tribe and major commercial centres.

"We have just recorded two deaths and five injuries in the bombings," a health source said Friday on condition of anonymity.

Kanyabayonga, home to more than 60,000 people, is around 100 kilometres (62 miles) from North Kivu's provincial capital, Goma, which is also surrounded by the Rwanda-backed rebels.

The M23 advanced towards Kanyabayonga in Lubero, the fourth territory in North Kivu province that the group has entered after Rutshuru, Nyiragongo and Masisi.

Parts of the group had entered the Kanyabayonga suburbs but the army pushed them back.

"The fighting is in the commune of Kanyabayonga and the surrounding area, but the army is still there," an administrative official said.

"The clashes are in the outlying districts, we suspect the rebels of wanting to bypass us," a security source said on condition of anonymity.

"The M23 have continued towards the north of North Kivu province, notably in the territory of Lubero," the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office said in its monthly report on Friday.

"The front line is crystallised around the city of Kanyabayonga," it added.

The clashes "are causing displacement of civilians," the report said, adding that "humanitarian organisations providing support to the displaced have suspended their operations for security reasons."

The UN report indicated that the clashes also "persisted" in the area of Sake to the west of Goma "with serious consequences on the civilian population which continue to be displaced en masse".