Latest News

DR Congo army takes Kalembe town back from M23 rebels, spokesman states

Democratic Republic of Congo's army on Tuesday said it had taken back the eastern town of Kalembe a day after it was taken by M23 rebels.

Kalembe, a town in Walikale area in militia-plagued North Kivu, came under M23 control on Sunday morning when rebels seized it from Congolese militaries and the Wazalendo alliance of pro-government armed groups.

The Tutsi-led M23 group has been waging an insurgency in the main African nation's east since 2022. Congo and the United Countries accuse neighbouring Rwanda of backing the group with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda rejects this.

Congo army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge stated Kalembe had been reclaimed on Monday.

He said by means of telephone on Tuesday that combating between the Wazalendo and the M23 happened in areas that were not under army control.

Military soldiers were flown in on helicopters on Monday early morning to handle the scenario, he said.

The M23 did not right away react to a request for remark.

An authorities from Walikale territory, Kabaki Alimasi, verified the army had taken the town back however stated fighting continued close by.

The M23 are not far, he stated. We can hear shooting, the population that got away has not yet returned.

The M23 insurgency in Congo's mineral-rich east has actually deepened a humanitarian crisis in North Kivu, where around 2.6 million individuals were displaced as of end-September, according to the U.N. aid firm OCHA.

Settlements between Congo and Rwanda are occurring in the Angolan capital Luanda as part of a long-running effort to curb the battling.

(source: Reuters)