Sawt Falasteen - M23 advances deeper in east DRC as Congolese troops flee

The M23 -- which is supported by some 4,000 Rwandan soldiers according to UN experts -- took control of the South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu on Sunday, just weeks after capturing Goma, the capital of North Kivu and main city in the Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east.

The gains gave M23 control of Lake Kivu following its blitzkreig in the east. According to the United Nations, the latest fighting has led to an exodus of over 50,000 Congolese to Burundi, Uganda and other countries.

The European Union on Friday summoned Rwanda's ambassador to demand Kigali pull out troops from the country and stop backing the armed group.

The EU's move comes a day after Germany summoned the Rwandan ambassador and the United States imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s minister for regional integration James Kabarebe.

Since the fall of Bukavu, the Congolese armed forces have been retreating without offering much resistance.

"Almost no Congolese soldiers are fighting", an observer said Friday, adding that the "only ones still fighting are the Wazalendo" or pro-Kinshasa militia.

The North Kivu city of Masisi and its surroundings "are the scene of almost daily clashes" between the M23 and Wazalendo, medical charity MSF said.

The M23 is now moving towards the town of Uvira near the Burundi border on the northwestern tip of Lake Tanganyika -- the main exit route for fleeing Congolese soldiers.

Around 42,000 people have fled the conflict and crossed into Burundi in the past two weeks, the United Nations said Friday.

A source in Uvira's municipality said Friday the military commander had taken "measures to secure the population and their property", adding that "undisciplined elements had been arrested".

Uvira residents had told AFP that chaos reigned in Uvira. On Wednesday, hundreds of soldiers and their families crossed the town on foot to reach the port.

At least 423 inmates from Uvira prison have escaped and the bishop of Uvira was robbed and held up by armed men at his workplace.

A few days earlier, South Kivu governor Jean Jacques Purusi was the target of an attack by pro-Kinshasa militia at his hotel in Uvira.

A number of soldiers and police protecting the governor were killed, his secretariat told AFP.

- 'If you hesitate, they shoot'-

On the northern front, which has been relatively stable since December, M23 fighters are now just 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the centre of Lubero, a strategic town.

Some Congolese soldiers have fled Lubero, but others were seen looting shops, according to several local sources.

"The Congolese soldiers we met along the way robbed us of our phones, money and other belongings," Aline Nyota, a displaced person who left Lubero to go further north, said.

"If you hesitate, they shoot," Nyota added.

The Congolese army spokesman in the region urged fleeing soldiers to return "to their authorities" and to "avoid looting, extortion and rape".

Traders in central Lubero have removed their goods and schools are closed. A relative calm returned on Thursday evening with the intervention of Ugandan troops (UPDF) deployed in the region as part of a joint operation with the Congolese army.

"For the moment, the UPDF are providing security," a Lubero resident said.

"They are patrolling everywhere... some on foot in the avenues and others on combat tanks," the resident added.

- 'Uganda will not fight M23' -

Analysts have questioned how the Ugandan army would react if it were to encounter M23 fighters.

Kampala is accused by UN experts of maintaining relations with the M23, while seeking to protect its influence in the area.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Friday denied his troops intended to fight the M23.

"With the deteriorating security situation in eastern Congo, we secured the permission of the Congo government to deploy" against local militias, particularly the Islamist-linked ADF group, Museveni said in a post on X.

"Our presence in Congo, therefore, has nothing to do with fighting the M23 rebels," he added.

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O.Mousa--SF-PST