Sawt Falasteen - M23, Rwanda troops launch fresh east DR Congo offensive

Just days after capturing the strategic city of Goma in neighbouring North Kivu, the M23 armed group had declared a unilateral humanitarian "ceasefire" to take effect from Tuesday.

The anti-government group announced at the same time it also had "no intention of taking control of Bukavu or other localities".

But intense clashes broke out at dawn on Wednesday between the M23 with its Rwandan allies and Congolese armed forces, security and humanitarian sources told AFP.

The M23 fighters and Rwandan forces seized the mining town of Nyabibwe, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Bukavu and 70 kilometres from the province's airport.

"This is proof that the unilateral ceasefire that has been declared was, as usual, a ploy," Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya told AFP.

In more than three years of fighting between the Rwanda-backed group and the Congolese army, half a dozen ceasefires and truces have been declared, before being systematically broken.

Local and military sources said in recent days that both the DRC army and the M23 and its Rwandan allies were in the process of reinforcing troops and equipment in the region.

Last week's capture of Goma was a major escalation in the mineral-rich region, scarred by relentless conflict involving dozens of armed groups over three decades.

At least 900 people were killed in the Goma clashes and 2,880 wounded, according to the UN's humanitarian body.

Fears the violence could spark a wider conflict have galvanised regional bodies, mediators such as Angola and Kenya, as well as the United Nations, European Union and other countries in diplomatic efforts for a peaceful resolution.

Diplomatic sources say the survival of the government of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who won a second term in December 2023, could also be at stake if the Rwanda-backed M23 continues to wrest control of more of the vast central African nation's east.

- Peace efforts -

Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame are due to attend a joint summit of the eight-country East African Community and 16-member Southern African Development Community in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam on Saturday, Kenya has announced.

A day earlier, the UN Human Rights Council will convene a special session on the crisis, at Kinshasa's request.

Several neighbouring countries have already said they are bolstering their defences due to the crisis.

Uganda's army announced last week it would adopt a "forward defensive posture" in order to stop "the numerous other negative armed groups operating in eastern DRC from exploiting the situation".

Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye has accused Rwanda of "preparing something against Burundi," adding: "We are not going to let it happen."

A UN expert report said last year that Rwanda had up to 4,000 troops in the DRC, seeking to profit from the mining of minerals, and that Kigali has "de facto" control over the M23.

Eastern DRC has deposits of coltan, the metallic ore that is vital in making phones and laptops, as well as gold and other minerals.

Rwanda has never explicitly admitted to military involvement in support of the M23 and alleges that the DRC supports and shelters the FDLR, an armed group created by ethnic Hutus who massacred Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST