Violent Clashes Force Evacuations in DR Congo
Despite a freshly inked peace framework brokered by Qatar in Doha between Kinshasa authorities and the M23 movement, hostilities reignited Thursday throughout North Kivu province—specifically in Kibati, areas within Walikale territory including Kinyumba, and Nyabiondo in Masisi territory, local inhabitants reported to media.
The violence erupted when Congolese military units launched offensive operations targeting insurgent strongholds in Kinyumba, according to eyewitness accounts.
Government aviation assets deployed a warplane to bombard rebel-held positions in both Kibati within Walikale and Kasopo in Masisi, residents confirmed.
"One person was seriously injured following a bomb explosion in Kautu village, near Mahanga town. The victim was treated at a local health facility, but the problem remains the lack of medicines as the region's health facilities have been looted during the recent clashes between rebels and government forces," said one resident who gave his name as Jean-Pierre.
News outlets reported that rebel forces captured Mahanga in Masisi territory during this week's combat operations.
Vianney Kitswamba, a security protection coordinator in Masisi, confirmed to reporters that the security situation remained extremely precarious in several villages in North Kivu Province.
Multiple neighborhoods now stand abandoned, he indicated. "Fearing for their safety, some families have fled their homes, yet they had just returned recently."
In a separate incident, authorities confirmed over 22 individuals were brutally gunned down in Irhambi Katana within Kabare territory in South Kivu province during overnight hours spanning Nov. 23 to 24, amid confrontations between local self-defense units and M23 fighters, military sources verified.
Those killed, ranging in age from 20 to 40 years old, were reportedly charged with aiding the Wazalendo faction.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, in a post on American social media company X this week, said the "young men were first arrested, then executed by M23 elements."
Furthermore, he stated the Katana health center in Kabare territory was attacked by M23 elements, killing a patient and two nurses.
The UN, Kinshasa and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23, which Kigali denies.
The Congolese Ebuteli Research Institute revealed in a report this month that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and M23 armed groups were among the most violent in October in Congo.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Congo (MONUSCO) said deadly attacks by the ADF in several localities in North Kivu province between Nov.13 and 19 killed at least 89 people.
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