DR Congo: M23 rebels clash with troops despite cease-fire

M23 rebels clashed with government soldiers in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday, despite a cease-fire due to take effect.

Both sides accused the other of triggering the clashes.

M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanukya said the cease-fire agreement had come into effect as of 12 p.m. local time (1100 UTC) and that it would "open the way for direct dialogue with the Kinshasa government."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the leaders of M23 to respect the agreement.

What else do we know about the clashes?

M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma told the AFP news agency that the group was defending itself after an attack from the army.

Fighting erupted on Monday in the province of North Kivu. According to hospital sources and aid workers, several civilians were left dead and injured in the violence.

Army spokesman Guillaume Ndjike said late on Monday that the M23 "and their sponsors from the Rwanda Defence Force" had attacked a Burundian contingent of an East African regional military force.

Ndjike said M23 had targeted a camp for displaced people and the area of Mubambairo, causing "huge damage."

What is the M23 rebel group?

More than 600,000 people have reportedly been displaced in eastern Congo in recent months during M23's territorial advances.

Kinshasa has long accused Rwanda of providing the rebel group with support. The assessment has been shared by independent UN experts and the United States.

The M23 have captured swaths of territory in Congo since late 2021. The Tutsi-dominated rebel group had been inactive for over a decade.

In March 2022, the Angolan presidency of the African Union announced a new timetable for the cessation of hostilities.

sdi/ar (dpa, AFP, Lusa)