GOMA, DR Congo
Rebel forces backed by Rwanda
have captured the town of Masisi in the east of the Democratic Republic of
Congo, according to various reports.
The M23 says it is protecting
ethnic Tutsis from persecution |
This is the second town seized
by the M23 group in as many days in the mineral-rich North Kivu province.
The group has taken control of
vast swathes of eastern DR Congo since 2021, forcing hundreds of thousands of
people to flee their homes.
Angola has been attempting to
mediate talks between President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart,
Paul Kagame. But these broke down last month.
"It is with dismay that
we learn of the capture of Masisi centre by the M23," Alexis Bahunga, a
member of North Kivu provincial assembly, told the AFP news agency.
He said this "plunges the
territory into a serious humanitarian crisis" and urged the government to
strengthen the capacity of the army in the region.
One resident told AFP that the
M23 had held a meeting of the town's inhabitants, saying they had "come to
liberate the country".
The Congolese authorities have
not yet commented on the loss of the town.
It is not clear how many
people were killed in the fighting between the M23 and the army and
pro-government militias. The town was reported to be quiet on Sunday.
Masisi, which has a population
of about 40,000, is the capital of the territory of the same name.
It is about 80km (50 miles)
north of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma, which the M23 briefly occupied
in 2012.
On Friday, the M23 captured
the nearby town of Katale.
Last year, there were fears
that the M23 would once again march on Goma, a city of about two
million people.
However, there was then a lull
in fighting until early December when fighting resumed.
In July, Rwanda did not deny
a UN
report saying it had about 4,000 soldiers fighting alongside the M23
in DR Congo.
It accused the Congolese
government of not doing enough to tackle decades of conflict in the east of the
country. Rwanda has previously said the authorities in DR Congo were working
with some of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide against ethnic
Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The M23, formed as an offshoot
of another rebel group, began operating in 2012 ostensibly to protect the Tutsi
population in the east of DR Congo which had long complained of persecution and
discrimination.
However, Rwanda's critics
accuse it of using the M23 to loot eastern DR Congo's minerals such as gold,
cobalt and tantalum, which are used to make mobile phones and batteries for
electric cars.
Last month, DR Congo said it
was suing Apple over the use of such "blood minerals", prompting the
tech giant to say it had stopped getting supplies from both countries.
Rwanda has denied being a
conduit for the export of illegal minerals from DR Congo.
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