M23 rebels seize eastern town in Congo

ISTANBUL

The M23 rebels have seized an eastern town in Congo amid intense clashes that have displaced nearly 250,000 people beginning earlier this month.

Videos on social media showed members of the rebel group taking control of Minova in Kalehe Territory.

Several armed groups are operating in eastern Congo but prominent among them are the M23 rebels. The Tutsi-led M23 rebels claim to defend Tutsi interests against ethnic Hutu militias whose leaders are linked to the genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994.

Since 2021, the group allegedly backed by Rwanda, resumed attacks on the Congolese army, seizing several strategic locations in the east.

According to a video on X by @goma24news based in the capital, Kinshasa, an M23 rebel commander returned to his people in Minova after 15 years.

A UN statement on the situation said at least 237,000 people have been displaced due to fighting in the region since early January.

A spokesperson for the M23 rebel group has also confirmed seizing Minova, which is a critical route for the provincial capital of Goma.

Amnesty International said civilians remain under constant attack as M23 rebels and the army increased the use of explosives, killing more than 100 victims in the last seven months.

The region also faces attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group linked to terror group ISIS (Daesh). According to a separate UN report, the group has killed more than 650 civilians in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri since June.

The UN Refugee Agency urged “safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to save lives” as it expressed “alarm” about the worsening situation.

Congo and the West accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, a claim that Kigali has consistently denied.