The army acknowledged Tuesday a “breakthrough” by the M23 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where the armed group fighting government forces has seized a trading hub that supplies the city of Goma. The fall of Minova to M23 fighters backed by the Rwandan army further encircles regional capital Goma in a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.”The enemy has made a breakthrough on Bweremana in North Kivu and Minova in South Kivu,” army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge said in a rare statement from the armed forces. A military source told AFP earlier in the day that exchanges of fire were still ongoing but already acknowledged that “the enemy has taken Minova”.Minova, a locality of about 65,000 inhabitants, is in South Kivu province and wedged between Lake Kivu and the Masisi mountains.”The M23 arrived at 6:00 am (0400 GMT). The population is fleeing,” Shosho Ntale, a traditional leader in Minova told AFP by telephone.A hospital source and several humanitarian sources also confirmed that the M23 had taken Minova.Since its resurgence at the end of 2021, the M23 movement has continued to gain ground in east DRC.But its capture of Minova is the latest in a series of significant advances in recent weeks.M23 fighters in early January captured Masisi, the administrative capital of Masisi territory in North Kivu province.Masisi has around 40,000 inhabitants and is 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Goma, North Kivu’s provincial capital.- Mass displacement -Fighting is now taking place on several fronts around Goma and hundreds of thousands of people are displaced around the outskirts of the city, which was briefly captured by the M23 in 2012.The closest fighting is now just 20 km from Goma in the Sake hills, raising fears again about the city’s fate. Explosions have been resonating as far as Goma since Monday, according to AFP journalists.However, the Congolese armed forces said in their statement Tuesday that “the Rwandan army and its M23 puppets are contained and pushed back” in the area.Many routes leading to Goma have been cut off by the fighting and people often cross Lake Kivu with supplies on overloaded boats.Shipwrecks are frequent on the lake and there is rarely a well-established list of passengers.Since early Monday, boats have been transporting people fleeing Minova who will try to seek refuge in Goma, according to local sources. “We continue to receive displaced people who are arriving en masse,” said Ishara Kaziwa, who is responsible for the protection of the Lushagala camp on the outskirts of Goma.”We have already received more than 100 households,” Kaziwa added.More than 230,000 people have already fled violence in eastern DRC since the start of the year, the United Nations said Friday, calling it one of the world’s “most alarming” humanitarian crises.”The rebels say they are bringing us peace and that we have nothing to fear,” a Minova resident who declined to give his name told AFP by telephone.A hospital in Goma has taken in more than 200 wounded since early January as the fighting intensified.
Tue, 21 Jan 2025 16:58:25 GMT
