The United Nations has said around 200,000 people have fled their homes in eastern Congo in recent days, as Rwanda-backed rebels march on a strategic town just days after US President Donald Trump hosted the Rwandan and Congolese leaders to proclaim peace.
In a statement released yesterday, the UN said at least 74 people had been killed, mostly civilians, and 83 others were admitted to hospital with wounds from escalating clashes in the area in recent days.
Local officials and residents said the Rwanda-backed M23 group has been advancing towards the lakeside town of Uvira on the border with Burundi and battling with Democratic Republic of Congo troops and local groups known as Wazalendo in villages north of the town.
In Washington, the US and nine other members of the International Contact Group (ICG) for the Great Lakes voiced "profound concern" over the renewed violence, the group said in a joint statement.
It said the new M23 rebel offensive "has a destabilising potential for the whole region" adding that the growing use of attack and suicide drones marked a major escalation in the fighting and posed a serious threat to civilians.
The violence follows last week's hosting by Mr Trump of the Rwandan and Congolese presidents in Washington for the ceremonial signing of a pact affirming US and Qatari-brokered commitments to end the war.
"Today we're succeeding where so many others have failed," Mr Trump said at the event, claiming his administration had ended a 30-year conflict that had led to the deaths of millions.
'Do not flee Uvira,' says rebel coalition
M23 fighters pushed toward Uvira after coming under attack by government forces, said Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebel coalition, urging fleeing soldiers not to abandon the town.
"You are Congolese… and Wazalendo soldiers. Do not flee Uvira. Wait for us to free you," said Nangaa of the AFC, a broad coalition of which M23 is a part.
A Congolese army spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
South Kivu provincial government spokesperson Didier Kabi said in a video message there had been chaos in Uvira after rumours spread that the M23 were near, but that calm was later restored.
Despite the group’s intention to advance on Uvira, M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa reiterated the group's support for Qatari-led peace talks in Doha, where representatives from the two sides signed a framework agreement last month for a peace deal aimed at ending fighting in eastern Congo.
"Even if we counterattack, we said that there are no other solutions in the current crisis than the negotiating table, and we want to bring Kinshasa to the negotiating table," Mr Bisimwa said.
Reuters reported yesterday that the rebels had captured Luvungi, a town that had stood as the front line since February, and that fierce fighting was under way near Sange and Kiliba, villages further along the road towards Uvira from the north.
Rwanda denies supporting the rebels in Congo, although the US and the UN said evidence of Rwandan backing is clear.
Prior to the latest upsurge in fighting, the conflict had already displaced at least 1.2 million people.
Reuters could not determine whether the rebels had captured Sange.
A local official and several local residents said they had fled ahead of M23's expected arrival. M23 said it had captured the town.
A Congolese army spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The State Department said yesterday that the US was deeply concerned by the violence.
"Rwanda, which continues to provide support to M23, must prevent further escalation," a spokesperson said.
The joint ICG statement urged M23 and Rwanda's armed forces to halt offensive operations, called on Rwanda to withdraw its troops from eastern Congo, and pressed M23 to return to positions set out in a 19 July declaration signed in Doha.
It called on all sides to recommit to a ceasefire and uphold commitments under the 4 December accords.
In a speech to politicians yesterday, Congo's president Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of violating the commitments it made in Washington.
A senior Trump administration official said the US was monitoring the situation, working with both Congo and Rwanda, and that "the president has made clear to both sides that implementation is what he will judge, and as he stated, he is expecting immediate results".
