DRC-Masisi : new violent fighting between the M23 and local armed groups in the Bashali chiefdom
Violent clashes between local armed groups and M23 rebels in the territory of Masisi in North Kivu have caused massive displacements of civilian populations since Sunday evening. According to the local civil society which confirms this news to SOS Médias Burundi, these are elements which are joining forces with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) which are trying to dislodge the M23 from its positions around the strategic city of Kitshanga as well as areas of Burungu, Petit Masisi, and other hills overlooking the city of Nyamitaba in the Bashali Kaembe groupment to the south of Masisi territory. INFO SOS Médias Burundi
The local civil society also claims that during these battles, losses of human lives were reported on the civilian side.
“Indeed, the clashes began in the late hours of Sunday when the forces of local armed groups attempted to dislodge elements of the M23 that had occupied the city of Nyamitaba for more than two weeks. Civilians were killed and others seriously injured”, said Tobirwakyo Toby Kahangu, chairperson of the civil society in the Bashali chiefdom.
Another resident affirms that the town of Burungu located around ten kilometers from Kitshanga remains under the control of local militias, while the hill of Gicwa is occupied by the M23.
For their part, local armed groups confirm having regained control of several entities in the Kilolirwe locality.
“We managed to recover Gicwa hill, Burungu and Kabalekasha in the morning hours of Monday. The enemy wanted to attack Kilolirwe and Kabati by crossing Virunga National Park to reach Bukombo and Sake. But we were able to foil their plan and we hope to even dislodge them from other positions”, says Séraphin Nsabimana, spokesperson for the local militias maintained by the Congolese authorities in Masisi territory.
The territory of Masisi is under the control of troops from the regional EAC force that came to the DRC as part of ensuring security in entities controlled by the M23.
The spokesperson for the Burundian EAC contingent in the DRC affirms that elements of the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) still keep their positions in the Bashali chiefdom.
“The war in Masisi is between local armed groups and the M23, none of these groups are attacking us. The Burundian contingent of the EAC still guards our positions in Sake, Kilolirwe, Kitshanga, Mweso, Mushaki and Karuba. Our troops are at 100% of their potential.”
But the M23 accused Monday in a press release, the Burundian army of having joined the coalition of FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and local militias maintained by the Congolese authorities and certain foreign armed groups the FDLR in particular to “intensify their targeted attacks against innocent civilian populations, burning villages, pillaging and destroying their property”.
In only one case, SOS Médias Burundi was able to verify the death of an FDNB officer in North Kivu in recent days. He was assigned to a contingent which operates within the framework of bilateral cooperation between the Burundian and Congolese governments. The circumstances of his death remain unclear.
The M23 is a former Tutsi rebellion which took up arms again at the end of 2021, accusing the Congolese government of not having respected its commitments on the reintegration of its fighters. The Congolese authorities remain convinced that it benefits from the support of Rwanda, which the Rwandan government continues to deny, for its part charging the Congolese leaders of collaborating with the Rwandan FDLR genocidaires by providing them with uniforms, weapons and ammunition with the aim of “destabilizing the Rwandan territory”.
