Heavy fighting resumed between the Congolese army and fighters of the March 23 Movement (M23) in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo early on Wednesday, a rebel spokesperson has confirmed to APA.
According to the spokesperson of M23 rebel group, Maj. Willy Ngoma, the clashes are taking place in north Kivu province.
He accused the government in Kinshasa of launching a warmongering campaign and torpedoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.
“It is the Congolese army that has launched offensives against the M23 positions with heavy weapons since Tuesday morning in the Rutshuru territory of North Kivu province”, said the rebel spokesperson.
Meanwhile reports on the ground confirmed clashes between the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARC) against rebels in Karenga and Karuli, the Rusayu areas on the border between the Virunga National Park and Nyiragongo territory (North Kivu).
The M23 is a group of former rebels of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP).
The name derives from the March 23, 2009, agreement between the CNDP and the Congolese government.
M23 leaders said the movement was born because the Congolese government failed to respect that agreement.
The M23 announced last week announced its withdrawal from KIbumba, a village it took earlier in North Kivu province before handing it over to a regional force of the East African Community.
Kibumba, a town in North Kivu province, has been under the control of the M23 since mid-November.
The East African force is made up of contingents from different countries in the region.
So far, Kenya has deployed some 900 troops to Goma, the capital of North Kivu.
Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan have also pledged to send troops to eastern Congo.
CU/as/APA