At least 13 killed in fierce fighting between Congolese army and M23 rebels
An escort of Kenyan and Congolese military personnel stands guard at the airport in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta lands on November 15, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The DRC forces, supported by pro-governmental armed groups, on Monday launched an offensive against rebel-controlled Mweso.
- After years of dormancy, the M23 (March 23 Movement) took up arms again in late 2021 and have since seized vast swathes of the province.
Clashes between the DR Congo military and M23 rebels intensified on Thursday in the eastern town of Mweso where residents said at least 13 people had been killed by artillery fire.
Thousands of people, including medical personnel and aid workers were caught up in the exchanges of fire.
Small children were among the dead across two residential areas, local people telephoned by AFP said, noting the death toll was provisional.
The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accused "M23 terrorists backed by the Rwanda army" of "blindly bombing" the town killing 19 people and wounding 17 more.
Photos and video taken Thursday by witnesses in the town show dismembered and eviscerated corpses strewn across debris from bombed out homes.
One resident of the area said he was "very frightened" for thousands of people who had "hidden in the hospital".
French NGO Doctors without Borders has employees at Mweso hospital and reported "intense fighting" on Wednesday around the facility.
The DRC forces, supported by pro-governmental armed groups, on Monday launched an offensive against rebel-controlled Mweso, located 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the provincial capital Goma.
A six-year-old child died in the early fighting and two civilians were wounded.
Witnesses told AFP that "bombs" had landed on the town from the direction of zones held by the army.
Tuesday saw a lull but clashes resumed Wednesday.
At least a dozen wounded people had made their own way to hospital on Wednesday, with ambulances blocked by the fighting. One person died of their wounds, medical sources said.
A dozen other injured civilians were being treated at makeshift clinics on the edge of the town, the sources said.
Townspeople holed up indoors and told AFP on Thursday as the clashes stepped up it was far too dangerous to venture outside.
"My children can't stop crying," a mother said by telephone, adding they had no food.
"If they keep crying those fighting might find us here and kill us," she said.
The clashes continued Thursday evening with explosions heard across the town.
UN peacekeepers stationed 10 kilometres to the south and also 20 kilometres to the north of Mweso, had yet to intervene.
The United Nations mission had on Monday evening released a statement saying M23 combatants had stopped people from Mweso from moving out to safer areas.
The rebels "were aiming to use civilians as human shields against possible attacks" from the army, the statement said.
On Wednesday at Kitshanaga, 10 kms from Mweso, M23 rebels had stopped a UN peacekeeper patrol and blocked their passage, according to an internal document seen by AFP.
"The M23 officers informed the patrol team" that henceforth they "need authorisation from leaders" of M23 to travel in the area.
The two territories of Rutshuru and Masisi in the vast country's eastern province of Nord Kivu have borne the brunt of the fighting between M23 and government forces.
After years of dormancy, the M23 (March 23 Movement) took up arms again in late 2021 and have since seized vast swathes of the province.
