DR Congo army and M23 rebels clash near densely populated eastern towns

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LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Renewed fighting between Democratic Republic of Congo’s army and M23 rebels broke out on Sunday around a densely populated town in eastern North Kivu province, where the rebels are waging an insurgency, the army and M23 said.

The M23 captured the town of Kirumba, the economic hub of Congo’s Lubero territory, at the end of June. It also seized the neighbouring town of Kanyabayonga around the same time.

M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma said government forces attacked several rebel positions around Kirumba early on Sunday morning and that fighting was ongoing.

The army in a statement reported clashes with the M23 in the village of Kikuvo, around a dozen kilometres away from Kirumba.

The Tutsi-led M23 have been waging a fresh insurgency in the vast central African country’s militia-plagued east since 2022.

Congo authorities, the United Nations, the United States and other Western governments have accused Rwanda of backing the group. Rwanda denies the accusations, which have also greatly soured relations with its neighbour.

Military efforts to push the rebels back have intensified over the past year as regionally brokered ceasefires keep failing. The latest was agreed at the end of July to start on Aug. 4.

The fighting has driven more than 1.7 million people from their homes in North Kivu, taking the total number of Congolese displaced by multiple conflicts to a record 7.2 million, according to U.N. estimates.

Like many towns in the area, Kirumba and Kanyabayonga host thousands of displaced people.

(Reporting by Yassin Kombi; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Hugh Lawson)