The M23 rebel group, led by Tutsis, asserts that it is protecting Tutsi interests from ethnic Hutu militias whose commanders are connected to the Rwandan Tutsi massacre.
Intense fighting that started earlier this month and has forces almost 250,000 people to flee their homes has seen the M23 rebels capture control of a town in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Social media videos depicted the rebel group’s fighters capturing Minova in KalegeTerritory.
The M23 rebels, led by Tutsis, assert that they are protecting Tutsi interests from ethnic Hutu militias whose commanders are connected to the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi massacre.
The purportedly Rwandan-backed organization has been attacking the Congolese army since 2021, taking control of a number of key eastern regions.
After 15 years, Kinshasa, an M23 rebel commander, returned to his people in Minova, according to a video on X by @goma24news, which is situated in the city.
Since early January, fighting in the area has resulted in the displacement of at least 237,000 people, according to a UN statement on the situation.
The M23 rebel group’s spokesperson has also verified that Minova, a vital highway leading to Goma, the provincial capital, has been taken.
According to Amnesty International, the army and M23 rebels have expanded their use of explosives, killing over 100 civilians in the last seven months.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia associated with the terrorist organization Daesh, also attack the area. A different UN report claims that since June, the organization has murdered around 650 civilians in the districts of Ituri and North Kivu.
The UN Refugee Agency voiced “alarm” at the deteriorating situation and called for “safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to save lives”.
Rwanda has continuously refuted accusation from the DRC and the West that it supports the M23 rebels.
