DRC: the city of Kanyabayonga is under the control of M23 since this Friday

The area fell after violent clashes between the Congolese army and its allies on one side and the M23 rebels on the other. Its city is Kanyabayonga, located about a hundred kilometers from Lubero center. According to witnesses, it has been a month since the clashes intensified around the city. On Friday afternoon, the FARDC was forced to withdraw, leaving the town in the hands of the M23 rebels.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

It was around 5 p.m. Friday that the M23 rebels entered the city of Kanyabayonga after a month of a tough battle where both parties suffered heavy losses, according to a source within the population.

“Today, the city of Kanyabayonga has fallen, we have become displaced in our own country, but we must recognize that the FARDC did what they could for 30 days to contain the rebel attacks. I think I will return to my town of Kanyabayonga very soon after the reorganization of the FARDC”, testifies a teacher who fled with his household effects and teaching manuals.

The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels but Rwanda has always denied these allegations.

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An M23 rebel during the capture of the town of Bunagana, bordering Uganda, June 2022