Rebels pursue combat in eastern DR Congo ahead of truce

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Nov 2022 23:43
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M23 rebels are still fighting and advancing on one front of their offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Congolese military escort standing guard at the airport in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, November 15, 2022 (AFP)

M23 rebels were still fighting and advancing in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, according to civilian and military sources, just hours before a ceasefire was set to go into effect.

Local sources told AFP by phone that clashes were taking place in Bambo, 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of the provincial capital Goma. "Heavy weapons fire can be heard, people are in a panic," a civil society representative said.

According to a security source, the M23 fired on combatants from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Fighting was also reported near Bwiza in the morning. However, the situation appeared more settled 20 kilometers north of Goma, where a frontline has formed over the last two weeks close to the town of Kibumba on national highway two.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta attended a mini-summit in Angola on Wednesday, which ended with an agreement to end hostilities in eastern DRC on Friday evening.

M23 rebels were then to withdraw from "occupied zones". The largely Congolese militia said Thursday that the ceasefire "doesn't really concern us" and demanded "direct dialogue" with the DRC's government.

The M23 is one of many armed groups that have turned eastern DRC into one of the most violent regions in Africa.

Many are the result of two wars that engulfed the region and killed millions of people before the turn of the century.