At least 50 people were killed in a wave of weekend violence in eastern Congo, officials said Saturday, as tensions flared between the government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, each side accusing the other of instigating the deadly attacks that have further destabilized the region.
The renewed clashes near Goma, the largest city in the region and now under M23 control, marked one of the biggest threats yet to ongoing peace efforts led by Qatar and several African nations. The escalating conflict has raised alarm over the potential for a wider regional war.
Amboma Safari, a Goma resident, in an AP report described a terrifying night spent sheltering with his family. “We hid under our bed as gunfire and bombs echoed through the night,” he said. “We later saw the bodies of soldiers, but we couldn’t tell which faction they belonged to.”
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In Bukavu, Congo’s second-largest eastern city and another area under M23 control, dozens of Wazalendo militia fighters, local armed groups allied with Congolese government forces, briefly marched toward the local airport, appearing to challenge M23 authority. The group eventually withdrew and declared a ceasefire Sunday, citing a desire to “give peace talks a chance.”
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The long-running conflict between Congo and the M23 rebels, which reignited in January when the rebel group captured the strategic city of Goma, has escalated dramatically. Bukavu fell in February, and the fighting has since claimed the lives of roughly 3,000 people. With around 7 million displaced, it has intensified what is already one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.
In a statement, Congo’s Ministry of the Interior reported 52 deaths between Friday and Saturday, including a civilian shot at Goma’s Kyeshero Hospital. The ministry blamed the M23 rebels for the violence.
But M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka rejected the allegations, instead accusing Congolese forces and their allies of provoking the attacks. He warned that Congo’s military collaboration with local militias and southern African forces “directly threatens the stability and security of civilians,” suggesting the group may shift its posture to prioritize regional control.
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“The M23 is being compelled to reconsider its position in order to safeguard the population,” Kanyuka said, hinting at a possible deepening of the conflict.
Christian Kalamo, a civil society leader in North Kivu province, which includes Goma, said that the violence left at least one body lying on the city’s streets Saturday.
“It is difficult to know if it is the Wazalendo, the FARDC (Congolese forces) or the M23″ that carried out the attacks, Kalamo said. “Now, we don’t know what will happen, and we live with fear in our stomachs, thinking that the war will resume.”
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